Feargal Quinn (Independent)

I extend good wishes to the Deputy Leader on her first day in this new job. I had not realised it was her first day, as it seemed she had been here forever. I am sure the Deputy Leader will be able to perform all her functions.

I received a letter the other day, which other Members may have received, from a person whose sister has been missing for 11 years. The letter sets out how his life changed when she disappeared. His agenda is to ensure every available resource is used to find a child from here or any other EU state as soon as possible should he or she go missing in this country. For this reason, I plead with the Deputy Leader to demand that the 116000 EU hotline for missing children be introduced in Ireland. The person from whom I received the letter has asked that this be done without further delay. The 116000 number has been reserved by the European Commission since 2007 for the entire European Union. While the Commission called on member states to have it operational in every country, the majority of countries have not done so, including Ireland. I ask the Deputy Leader to draw the attention of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, whose heart, I am sure, is in the right place, to ensure it is introduced in Ireland. I am sure it would not be expensive to do this. I do not understand the reason the number is not operational in this country.

Will the Deputy Leader provide time for a debate in the House on a particular aspect of banking? Yesterday, the Federal Reserve in the United States voted to reduce bank charges on the use of debt and credit cards. Yesterday also, the Office of Fair Trade in the United Kingdom proposed a ban on unfair debt or credit card charges. I was provided with an example of those charges, which stunned me. Ryanair is estimated to have received €252 million last year from card charges. These are figures which affect us. Two years ago, the European Court found that it was illegal for MasterCard and Visa to levy charges for cross-border transactions in Europe and urged each country to examine its own situation. I acknowledge it will be difficult for us nowadays to request that our banks reduce their charges but that is what we must do. Every trader who uses the credit card facility must pass on that charge to their customers , even those who pay with cash. We enacted legislation which provides that one must be charged the same for an item regardless of whether one pays by credit card or cash. Our citizens are paying higher prices for items for reasons that could be addressed. I urge the Deputy Leader to provide time reasonably soon for a debate on credit card charges and the banking system as a whole.