Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail)

Emergency legislation to ban the sale of mephedrone is currently going through the British Parliament. This will boost the profits of these despicable head shops in Border counties. It is important to establish how the Government intends to respond.

I share the concerns expressed on all sides of the House at the placing in administration of the Quinn insurance group. In particular, I agree with the comments made by my friends and colleagues, Senators Joe O'Reilly and Diarmuid Wilson. This will have an impact on people who work for the group in Derrylin and Cavan town. I caution commentators that the administration applies to the UK arm of the insurance group and gives, perhaps, an interesting insight into the state of the British economy rather than the relatively robust Irish economy. The Irish arm of the business is not affected. Those who follow football will know that a number of clubs in the English Premiership and championship have gone into administration, the most recent being Portsmouth FC. They will survive. No club has gone out of business.

Members have referred to this as a very important day. Yesterday was a great day for the west, although it has been underreported. The first phase of the western rail corridor was opened. I pay tribute to those who have been campaigning for this for many years. I met many of them during the European Parliament election campaign, as did Senator O'Reilly. They are committed people who operate on a voluntary basis. They have now seen the realisation of the first part of this project. The naysayers in the Dublin-based media immediately began to question the viability of this railway line, before the trains were even on the track. We did not hear this questioning about Luas or the DART. Of course, because the service is in the west, questions must be raised about its continuing viability. I have no doubt this will be an important extra dimension to the economic regeneration of that part of the west. Phase 2 of the line to Tuam and then to Claremorris will be the start of a widespread economic regeneration. Unless there are joined-up transportation links between towns across the west, we have little hope of surviving. This is a positive story. Senator Labhrás Ó Murchú referred to the importance of optimism. This is a good news story which shows optimism about the future, especially in the west. I wish everyone well with the new line and I look forward to using the service. I applaud the decision of the Green Party at their convention last week to endorse the implementation of Metro North which will be vital in the ongoing regeneration of the country.