Ned O'Sullivan (Fianna Fail)

I will not delay the House unduly because most of what I wanted to say has been said already. Nonetheless, I welcome the Minister to the House and support what he is trying to achieve with this Bill. The legislation is both logical and sensible, as everyone here would agree. I wish to raise one or two points, however.

Senator Quinn spoke of opening up a debate on nuclear power and that such a debate would be timely. It is a good few years since the then Minister, Dessie O'Malley, proposed a nuclear power plant at Carnsore Point. It was a big issue at the time and is now part of folk legend with a song by Christy Moore. As a young student at the time, I was probably on that side of the fence. More than likely the Minister was too, as he was a student leader in my time. I first encountered the current Minister when he was head of the student union and I was only a soldier.