Ivana Bacik (Independent)

Following on what Senator O'Toole said, I have a question on Seanad reform. There is a serious issue with regard to the vote lost by the Government last week on which I would like to hear the Leader's response. As I mentioned yesterday, Judge Curran's judgment in the case brought by Senator Doherty put a legal framework on the concept of democracy. It also gave us a clear precedent on the need for representation in a democracy. There is an issue for graduates of UL, DCU and the institutes of technology who have not been afforded the right to representation in the Seanad as envisaged in the referendum held in 1979. There is a serious legal matter to be decided in that regard.

I call for a debate on the report issued today on the heroin problem in Ireland. The report of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction is very worrying. It indicates that Ireland has the worst rate of heroin addiction in Europe and the longest waiting times for treatment. We need a debate on the matter and on how best to deal with the problem.

I suggest that for the future we should have a policy of having a minute's silence during the eleventh hour of the eleventh day. We should all support this proposal.