Nicky McFadden (Fine Gael)

I would like clarification on a point. I wanted to raise an issue on domestic violence and women, and on the fact that today is international AIDS day. A correlation of this is the minimum price of alcohol and the amount of destruction and the number of public offences caused by very cheap alcohol. I also want to discuss the desecration of women and the number of women abused when they are pregnant for the first time. However, I am afraid that if I ask for such a debate I will not receive an answer because I do not know how the schedule will be ordered.

The other issue I wish to raise concerns a situation I encountered while I was out canvassing recently. I called on a family and found them in darkness in their house because they could afford to pay their ESB bill. They had not fed their children for two days. We are in a cocoon in the House and yet we find people here are self-serving and just talk about themselves. I find this insulting to people and the conditions in which they live in the broader community. The family I visited are people who are paying their mortgage and consequently going without food and electricity. I urge the Leader to make this House relevant so that we connect with the people in society who suffer most.