Susan O'Keeffe (Labour)

It is probably a red letter day or a red dress day for women in Ireland who are delighted about the publication of the Electoral (Amendment) (Political Funding) Bill, which will be introduced in this House later today. It is fitting that the Minister, Deputy Hogan, has chosen to introduce it through the Seanad given the work that has been done here in the past in raising the issue of encouraging more women to enter political life.

I also welcome a conference being held in DCU today on a subject of great interest to many Members of this House, the importance of ethical journalism. Perhaps we can be grateful to Mr. Rupert Murdoch after all for showing us how low the bar went and how much work needs to be done. The conference on ethical journalism at DCU is being sponsored by the Global Editors Network. It represents 700 editors across 40 countries and it has launched a campaign for ethical journalism. That is a good thing. If we are to have a debate on this issue in the House, we might bear in mind that campaign and invite the Global Editors Network to address the House at a later stage, given that this is an issue that is close to our hearts. It would be good to see Ireland take a lead in encouraging and supporting ethical journalism.

I would like to raise a touchy subject, that of the issue of a referendum, and suggest to the Leader that when we talk about the fiscal compact treaty next week we would concentrate our energies on the fact that we are seeking to bring stability to the eurozone. Rather than having a row on whether we should vote on it at this point, we should concentrate on what fiscal compact treaty is, its weaknesses and merits and if it can bring stability to Europe. That is what the Government is trying to achieve not only for Ireland but for Europe and for the world.

I ask that the Tánaiste reiterate his condemnation of the events in Syria. The violence of last year, which has resulted in the death of at least 5,000 people, is continuing unabated. The UN Security Council is discussing this with the Arab League. I urge the Leader to ask the Tánaiste to reiterate his condemnation of the violence in Syria and the repression of civil rights there.