Feargal Quinn (Independent)

Last week there was a settlement of a price-fixing anti-trust action in the United States. It was the largest ever settlement of its kind, at €6.6 billion, and it involved MasterCard and Visa. The end result is that credit card costs should come down quite dramatically in the United States. Exactly the same issue arose here a few months ago in the case of European cross-border transactions. The European Commission urged each country to take similar action in order to reduce costs. If we are to discuss being competitive, this is one easy win because the banks have been overcharging for many years and it appears that there has been success in the United States with the largest ever anti-trust settlement.

I add to Senator Mary Ann O'Brien's reference to an effort to make employers pay the first four weeks of wages for anybody who is ill. Approximately an hour ago I listened to Mr. Barry O'Leary of the Industrial Development Agency talking about efforts to make ourselves more competitive and have more jobs in Ireland. It is going exactly the wrong way to argue that every employer must pay the first four weeks of any illness in future. We must do something about that.

Senator Mullen mentioned Southwark in England. The people who emigrated were very poor and we did nothing for them in the 1950s and 1960s. They are now in their eighties and cannot even afford a haircut. We gave them a small gesture through the Irish Government but I gather it is likely to close. Could we ensure that we do not forget those whom we let down in the 1950s and 1960s?