Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)

I welcome Dr. Manning back to the House and thank him for attending today. I thank him for his helpfulness as leader of the Opposition when, as Minister of State, I sat in the seat he now occupies and legislation passed through the House in a timely fashion. I also thank him for his endorsement of the excellent O'Rourke report and convey her thanks to him for that contribution which I hope will be included in her book. It was a wise decision by the then Minister, Michael McDowell; the then Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, and the Government of the day to appoint Dr. Manning to the position of president of the Irish Human Rights Commission. The appointment was warmly welcomed and he has acquitted himself very well.

I welcome the representatives of the 33 non-governmental organisations who are present and thank Senator van Turnhout for ensuring their presence, as they play an important role. It is a great opportunity for Members to meet them and I hope there will be other opportunities for them to return. They represent an excellent list of non-governmental organisations and I commend the work they do.

I will put one question on behalf of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors. I must declare an interest in this regard as it is my nominating body to this House. It seeks affiliation to the Irish Congress of Trade Unions as an affiliate organisation. A formal application has been made in this regard, but it was vetoed by a previous Minister for Justice and Equality. Incidentally, I do not expect a reply from the president today-----