Susan O'Keeffe (Labour)

I support the call by my colleague, Senator Healy Eames, for a debate on the Keane report. I understand we are due to have a debate next week. In light of Senator Quinn's comments about the future of the Seanad and how we conduct our business, would it be possible to structure that debate in such a way that there is a commitment that the contributions will be very precise and will actually be used in building on what the Keane report can do and in which we can channel to the Minister the contributions to the debate of organisations such as New Beginning?

The Minister has said that the Keane report is part of the process, a beginning as it were. In that regard I welcomed it as a contribution to how we can work together to improve the plight of those who are suffering and struggling with their mortgages. Members of the House must find a way, perhaps with the assistance of the Leader and the Minister, to ensure that those contributions are made as specific parts of that process. Time is not on anybody's side in this. The people who are struggling are doing so on a daily basis and they cannot wait for us to pontificate. Perhaps we can find a way in that debate for, in the future, conducting very precise contributions. Is some slight alteration required to do that? Forgive me for not knowing the answer at this point but is there a specific way in which we can contribute on that day?