Dominic Hannigan (Labour)

When speaking about environmental damage, I wonder if Senator Ó Brolcháin is aware of the Government's policy on illegal timber products. I am grateful to Mr. Frank McDonald of The Irish Times for pointing out today that we have the worst record in Europe in importing illegally logged timber. When I brought up this issue six months ago, I was told the Government was working on it, but I was not given a timescale. We have since imported a further €10 million worth of illegally logged timber. The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, a member of the Senator's party, could change this with the stroke of a pen, yet he refuses to do so. If the Senator is so interested in tackling the issues of environmental damage and deforestation, perhaps he could tell his Minister that, rather than sharing his thoughts with Members of this House.

I agree with Senators Mooney and Wilson who have asked the Financial Regulator to expedite his decision on the Quinn Group. There is no point in telling us in six months that everything is okay and that the group can re-enter the market. It would be far too late at that stage. What worries me is the potential number of people who could be made unemployed in counties Cavan, Mongahan and Meath and Blanchardstown. People have already been waiting four months in County Meath to have their claims processed.

I do not share Senator Boyle's view that we should be discussing the issue of unemployment. While it is important to talk about unemployment and pensions, I would prefer to talk about employment creation measures and enterprise, although we cannot forget that people are being made unemployed and need to know their rights. We could do with a debate on how we should deal with people who have just been made unemployed.