Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)

The criteria for the technological university is being worked on with the Higher Education Authority. The promise of a university for Waterford has been ongoing for the past 20 years, with promise after promise received from previous Governments. I hope it will be acted upon as a matter of urgency, as the Government has now stated. The measure is long overdue. As Senator Walsh has indicated, the south east is the poorest and most under-performing region in the country, with almost 18% unemployment. Waterford city has 20% employment and together these are the highest rates in the State. It is about time the people of the south east and Waterford get some share of the cake. By all means we should have a level playing field for universities, which should be able to compete for money, but some bodies should not try to prevent other institutions from elevating to a higher status.

Senator Noone spoke about NAMA, whose representatives have been before the finance committee. I am sure those people can be returned before the committee to answer further questions in that regard. The matter may also be raised with the Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, who will be here to make a statement and take questions on 6 October.

Senator Ó Clochartaigh called for a debate on the Presidency. I do not think it is an appropriate time to have such a debate as we will have a campaign in full swing within a week or so. On the same subject, Senator Harte referred to voting rights for people in Donegal and indeed the Twenty-six Counties, saying that people should have votes in Northern Ireland. Any changes in the Constitution will be decided by the people - the people in the Twenty-six Counties, the people who pay their taxes here. They will be the ones who decide on any constitutional amendment.

Senator Daly praised the firefighters, and we all agree with him.

Senator Colm Burke referred to the JobBridge programme and the need to tweak the criteria and regulations in that regard. I agree with Senator Byrne that the object should be to up-skill our workforce. I am sure that any tweaking of the criteria that is required will be done as the scheme goes on. Senator Byrne also mentioned Trolley Watch and the fact that we can now get it on the apps system.

Senator Conway referred to the HSE write-off and the number of retired staff who hold positions in private insurance companies. I do not know whether that information is available, but I will certainly raise the issue with the Minister. On the call for an update on the constitutional convention, as the Senator knows, we will be having two referenda along with the presidential election, but I will ascertain from the Government the progress on the constitutional convention.

Senator Walsh referred to WIT and said that the Seanad election could be done on an all-party basis. Again, it is a question of waiting until after the referendum on the future of the Seanad, when the people will decide. If they decide in the affirmative, that it should stay, we can discuss the item at that point.

Senator Sheahan referred to the Revenue Commissioners and the difficulties for small businesses. I think everyone can empathise with people in small businesses and the difficulties they have not only with the Revenue Commissioners, but with banks and others. Their backs are certainly to the wall.

Senator O'Donnell referred to the problem with the HSE and the withdrawal of some services from community hospitals, and also the proposed closure of Garda stations. We will try to get the Minister for Health and the Minister for Justice and Equality in to discuss those matters in early course. Senator Mullins also called for a debate and question and answer session with the Minister for Health, Deputy Reilly, and I am doing my best to facilitate that.

I am sure we all wish those involved in the ploughing championships well. Agriculture is certainly of paramount importance to our economy and I am delighted to hear that more places will be made available in our agricultural colleges. I thought we were going to get a commentary on the match from Senator Norris. It was like the presidential election campaign, with people scoring and not scoring and so on. However, we all welcome his comments on agriculture and wish everyone involved in the national ploughing championships every success over the next number of days.