Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail)

I echo Senator Colm Burke's comments regarding remarks by Mr. Justice Hardiman, who has proved prescient in his strong criticism of tribunals. Unfortunately, the tribunals themselves have become a greater scandal than anything they have investigated in the past 13 years. This House should debate the complete repeal of the relevant legislation. We must find a mechanism for inquiring into issues of public importance to replace the tribunal system, which operates as a lottery for people in the Law Library. What has happened is a great shame.

An announcement was made today that roads throughout the State will be tolled as part of the continuing persecution of motorists. I have no objection to tolling long stretches of roadway which connect cities; there is a competitive advantage in that to the economy and to motorists who use them. However, I object strongly to the notion being promulgated by the Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Alan Kelly, that every small section of the M50, for example, should have a toll. I am fortunate to be able to travel to Leinster House via three different routes, the first involving a succession of regional roads, the second using the M9 from Waterford to Dublin - which is motorway all the way and in respect of which I would not object to the imposition of a toll - and the third involving the N11, which has short stretches of motorway. The suggestion that a toll should be imposed on the latter is crazy. If we were to do that, car tax should be removed. It behoves the Government to tackle the waste in expenditure across the subheads in the various Departments. I urge that this be done.

I concur with Senator Bacik's remarks on the media scandal in Britain. I have no doubt that what happens there will happen here shortly. The former Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, the then Deputy Michael McDowell, organised a conference in UCD in advance of the privacy and defamation Bill, which has been enacted. The then secretary of the NUJ stood up and stated that standards here were being lowered and that standards across the water were diabolical. We need to look at ways of ensuring that people's privacy is safeguarded. The power of the media can be used and abused. Whether its use is legal or illegal, it is onerous on people and we, the Oireachtas, have a duty to protect vulnerable people who do not have the financial resources to restore their reputation to challenge the media, which is controlled by large corporations with financial resources.