Ivana Bacik (Independent)

The points should be made fairly and we should accept that the Government which was in power for 14 years up to early this year was responsible for the bailout which the Senator is condemning.

I ask the Leader for further debate on child protection issues once the Minister, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, has put in place an implementation plan arising from the report of the special rapporteur which we debated last night. There was an excellent discussion on the topic with some good contributions from Senators with real expertise in the area. I meant to mention last night the contribution of Senator van Turnhout as one of the people who brought real experience to bear on the issue. The idea of having a debate when we have seen what measures can be implemented from the plan would be really important and show the real strength of the Seanad.

I ask the Leader for a debate on constitutional reform. In the week of Mr. Justice Declan Costello's death, we are reminded of the ambitious plans and proposals for constitutional reform in the programme for Government. We have made a commitment to debate the programme for Government in a thematic way and one of those themes is the key theme of constitutional and political reform. This place would be an appropriate avenue for that debate.