Donie Cassidy (Fianna Fail)

As the Deputy Leader, Senator Boyle, said, it is the prerogative of the Taoiseach to decide the date of the general election.

I should have mentioned to the House last week that there might be one, two or three more Bills for our consideration before the finance Bill is finalised in the House. It is welcome that the Bill Senator Coghlan mentioned was published and is now being taken in the Dáil.

I welcome the wonderful announcement made by Intel last week of the investment of a further €500 million in Ireland, leading to the creation of 850 jobs in construction and 200 long-term high-end jobs at its plant in Leixlip. What Intel has achieved and what we are achieving in Ireland is a dream come true. It could be considered we are talking about a race to the bottom in talking about the negatives, but this is a shining example of one of the most successful multinational companies in the world restating its commitment to Ireland, possibly for the next ten, 15 or 20 years. It behoves us in this House to welcome this magnificent announcement and acknowledge how uplifting it will be for all those young people who will get jobs in Leixlip.

Senators Twomey, O'Toole and Buttimer called on the Minister for Health and Children to come to the House to discuss the proposed increases in VHI premiums. I agree with them that the proposed increase of 45% in certain premiums is unacceptable, particularly given the state of the economy. I ask Senators who have a good deal of experience in this field such as Senator Twomey to talk to me after the Order of Business to see how we can assist the Minister in the matter. Senator Twomey and other colleagues have considerable expertise and experience which could be of great assistance to the Minister. Having asked her to come to the House to deal with the issue, I fully support everything that has been said by colleagues about the proposed increases by VHI.

Senators Callely and Ó Brolcháin raised the matter of information technology and placed the focus on upgrading systems. Senator Callely spoke about the benefits of using such systems for Luas and DART services and referred to the provision of real-time information for Dublin Bus services. The traffic radio service available each morning as motorists travel into town is also of great assistance. I congratulate all those who assist to monitor traffic flows in the city centre. I will pass on the views of the Senators to the Minister.

As I outlined yesterday, the number of debates and the taking of statements prior to the general election will be much reduced. As Members will note, there are six Bills for our consideration this week, with two to be taken each sitting day.

Senator Callely called for a debate on domestic violence. I will have no difficulty in allocating time for such a debate, if it is possible to do so.

Senators Norris and Walsh extended congratulations to that wonderful Irishman, Mr. John Ging, on his appointment to a position at the United Nations. I heard him being interviewed on radio this morning and fully support the Senators in extending congratulations and wishing him well.

Senator Norris congratulated the Fianna Fáil Parliamentary Party for the dignified way it conducted its affairs yesterday. I can only say it was very uplifting. The way forward is to conduct our business in a dignified way. In the end we will all come out stronger, as happened when Fine Gael had its difficulties. I have no doubt the same will happen with Fianna Fáil.