Donie Cassidy (Fianna Fail)

I compliment the Captain of the Guard, the Superintendent of the Houses and the Commissioner. They can be proud of their staff for the way they performed their duty to protect the House from those who wish to come in for no reason other than to try to achieve notoriety in many cases. They were not coming through and I congratulated everyone who helped in that regard. We cannot condone that sort of demonstration or activity. It is not in the best interests of Ireland, our families or our communities. It is something we see happen in other nations on our television screens. I congratulated the leadership of the trade union movement on the Order of Business and all organisations for the responsible way in which they are leading our country at this time in this difficult global downturn which is affecting us. We are no different from any other open economy in the world.

Senator Norris raised the issue of clampers. I will pass on the Senator's strong views to the Minister after the Order of Business and see what I can do about it.

Senator Mooney fully supported the views expressed in the "Prime Time Investigates" programme last night. I remind the Senator that it is not a rural problem. It is an all-Ireland problem because I would say many of the tyres came from the bigger towns and cities throughout the country.

Senator Hannigan called for funding to be put in place for the Irish diaspora. Senator Mooney has constantly raised this issue in the House. I fully agree with the Senator's sentiments and I will do whatever I can in this area.

Senator Glynn raised the issue of the high performance by the Midland Regional Hospital, Mullingar, and said that the high performers should be rewarded. I fully agree with the Senator's sentiments. As one who worked very hard as a TD to have funding put in place for the shelled out building and to get the extra €5 million for the refurbishment of level O, the Minister's visit on 21 June is something to which we are looking forward. I thank the Senator for his help in having the Minister attend on 21 June and I look forward to being present with him and other colleagues to acknowledge the achievements of this Government in terms of the €21 million that has been spent on Mullingar hospital.

Senator Glynn also raised the issue of the fish stock levels and expressed his serious concerns about the lake county in particular. I fully support him and have no difficulty in having a debate in the House on that issue to find out the up-to-date position on it.

Senator Keaveney called for a debate on Northern Ireland and on republicanism. I have no difficulty in examining if we can have that take place before the end of this term, with the Taoiseach present to update the House on matters including the challenges with the new Government in the United Kingdom and how we can progress in regard to North-South issues and everything to do with the success of the Good Friday Agreement.

Senator MacSharry made a worthwhile proposal to the House for the consideration of everyone in regard to the banks' art collections. He congratulated the Bank of Ireland on its initiative and called on all other banks to turn in their valuable assets, especially those in regard to culture and heritage and their archive material of huge value. It would be appropriate at this difficult time if they were to donate those to the State.

Senator Bacik raised the issue of the protection of children. I remind the House and Senator Bacik that the Minister will be in the House tomorrow and the debate on the report is being taken from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Senator Keaveney called for a debate on sun beds. I have already given a commitment that this debate will take place. Senator Keaveney also called for a debate on waste water management. That is a timely call and I have no difficulty in the House debating that issue soon.

Senators Ross, Twomey, McDonald and Mullen called for legislation on whistleblowers. They mentioned the Director of Public Prosecutions charter on whistleblowers and cases of white collar crime. I remind the House that the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill 2008 is due in June and it will cover protection of persons reporting suspected corruption offences in good faith. That Bill will before the House for our consideration in June.

Senator Quinn informed the House, in regard to the retail trade, that 14% of those employed in our country are employed in the retail trade. He referred to the code of conduct that has been put in place for the grocery trade and the difficulties Irish suppliers will experience in terms of competition from those who are not obliged to adhere to the new code of conduct. I chaired the grocery inquiry from 2004 to 2007 and I can say it was the most difficult work I did as Chairman of the Joint Committee on Enterprise and Small Business. We all felt at that time that we should have held tight in regard to the grocery order. The findings of that committee inquiry were never more true than they are today. I will discuss with Senator Quinn after the Order of Business how we can help the industry because it needs a great deal of help at present.

Senator McDonald called on the Health Service Executive to produce an up-to-date report on the tragic death of the poor young man whose body was found in County Meath, Daniel McAnaspie, in terms of what happened to him. The Senator asked that both Houses of the Oireachtas would be informed by the HSE and for the Minister to come to the House to update us on when the HSE will conclude its inquiries into this terrible tragedy.