Niall Ó Brolcháin (Green Party)

I refer to the powerful contribution of Senator Ó Murchú and his use of the word "hope", which is important. The word is commonly used by the US President, Barack Obama, who wrote a book entitled, The Audacity of Hope. I am a great believer in consensus politics to lead the country and enable Members of both Houses to work together for its betterment. We often have tit for tat exchanges, with Members on the other side of the House giving out to Members on this side who stand their ground and so on. There is a strong case to be made for us to show leadership. When I entered the House, I said I felt a heavy hand of responsibility on my shoulder and that applies to every Senator. Sometimes, with others, I forget this. It is important that the Oireachtas show leadership on the way forward. A debate on the provision of hope would be a good one. It would also be an unusual one. I do not know how it would be framed or under which Department it would come, but it is important that we spread hope in every debate in the House.

I congratulate Senator Quinn for his comments regarding renewable energy and so on. This could be a source of great hope for the country and an area in which we could do well in future. Finally, I believe the debate on rugby that is being called for is important, but this needs to be balanced against the idea that Rupert Murdoch can take control of rugby in this country and community needs, particular as regards young children who could be forced to go to pubs to see the things we took for granted as young people, that is, the great rugby players of this country playing international matches on our television screens at home. I do not believe it would be good if people were forced to go to pubs to see matches. There is a need to balance this debate and I hope there is an outcome that will satisfy all parties. Indeed, there is a consultation phase going on at the moment in relation to this.