Susan O'Keeffe (Labour)

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I particularly welcome the idea of the Economic Management Council having a working group. Perhaps it would help if in three months time it or the working group came back to us and let us know how they are getting on.

As we all agree, there is no quick and easy solution. If there was I am sure the Minister of State would have found it by now and we would not be sitting here. Senator MacSharry has contributed to the urgency of this debate with his Bill. I am heartened by the response of the Minister of State today in regard to what is happening. Many of the solutions will be found by people sitting around tables, holding discussions and trying to work out the best solutions. They need to be flexible. The Bill was brought together at a time when the need for flexibility was not so obvious as it is now.

I am certain that the spirit and content of the Bill will form part of those conversations. We on this side of the House want to make sure that there is not a further delay. I appreciate the comments of Senator Cullinane. I do not believe there is a delay for the sake of it. While he may have no standing we would welcome the opportunity for us to have something further to addor to listen to what the Economic Management Council is considering in six, eight or ten weeks time. Perhaps we could all contribute to that debate, which could send a signal about the unity of the Seanad or its capacity to be flexible.

I do not agree with Senator O'Brien's idea that we should send a signal to the wider world about how clever we are in here that we would all agree to a Bill and negotiate amendments or whatever. That is rather cumbersome. If the Bill is not right-----