Terry Brennan (Fine Gael)

I congratulate the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste on the recent announcement on the personal insolvency Bill. The Government has been true to its promises of action on mortgage debt. A series of other measures to assist those in mortgage difficulty has been also agreed. Fundamental to our strategy is a radical overhaul of Ireland's regime of personal debt insolvency. The Government has met with the main banks to brief them and to discuss their approach to mortgage arrears, and this is to be welcomed. The Government is also fulfilling its commitments and responsibilities to develop new options for those people in debt distress. The banks must play their part to resolve this crisis, as they were mainly responsible for it.

Ba mhaith liom chomhghairdeas a ghabháil ar an Deputy Chief Constable of the PSNI, Judith Gillespie, on being awarded a silver fáinne for passing her Irish examinations. Fuair sí 96% sa scrúdú. In excess of 200 officers and staff from the PSNI have also expressed an interest in learning the Irish language. Deputy Chief Constable Gillespie took part in the Líofa programme, which is being sponsored by the Department of Culture. This is a major achievement and shows that the native language is growing in Northern Ireland. I congratulate her and her staff and associates.