Rónán Mullen (Independent)

It appears the European Commission never takes with one hand without giving with the other. I am sure Members were astounded by the bizarre comments of the German Energy Commissioner, Mr. Günther Oettinger, when he suggested flags should be flown at half mast in bailout programme countries, as if this might in some way deter countries from getting into debt or letting their debts get out of control. To be fair, it seems Mr. Oettinger is already back-pedalling furiously.

It is probably more appropriate for us to note that the European Commission is starting to talk about introducing options on eurobonds and that the Commission President, Mr. José Manuel Barroso, has been making the right noises in this regard. Of course, we should also note the good news for Ireland in the reduction of the interest rate and the extension of the maturity period of our loans under the European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism. This is the direction in which things have to move if the European Union is serious about helping countries with debt problems to tackle the crisis they face. While Nicolas Sarkozy and François Fillon say they are going to do everything to save Greece, it is increasingly clear that the powerful countries at the heart of the European Union need to do something more than talk. They need to show themselves capable of taking co-ordinated and speedy action and implementing the serious measures necessary to maintain confidence in the ability of European countries facing a debt crisis to meet the challenge.

I note the reforms introduced in the Dáil to facilitate debates on topical issues, which are to be welcomed. It appears our colleagues in the Dáil will be able to enjoy the privilege we have enjoyed of being able to raise topical issues from time to time. I have long thought that a reform we should try to achieve in the Seanad concerns our ability to put parliamentary questions directly. We are not well served by the current Adjournment debate procedure at the end of each day's proceedings. I often had pertinent questions to ask which simply did not fit what was available to Members in Adjournment debates. It seems that while the Constitution provides clearly that the Government is accountable specifically to the Dáil and that this is the rationale for accepting parliamentary questions in that House, the Seanad would function better if its Members had a more direct opportunity to put questions to the Government. Some consideration should be given to this possibility.

I welcome Senator Bacik's comments on-----