Feargal Quinn (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I express my appreciation to the Leader for making time today for the debate on the consultation paper, Open It, Don't Close It. It will be a very useful debate and I hope it receives good attention.

Will the Leader consider finding time for a debate on the timber industry? The Government intends to sell off 85% of our timber in the coming 50 years, according to the figure I was given. I had not realised the benefits we have in fossil fuel timber for heat and energy. There is a good deal to be learned about this. I assumed that burning timber was the wrong way to go but apparently it is the correct thing to do. We have a considerable opportunity here but have not been using it. I realise the Minister may be able to touch on this when he attends tomorrow but it deserves a much wider and longer debate. I would welcome the chance to debate the whole issue of using timber for fuel in the years ahead.

We should hold our heads high with pride because Dublin has the lowest number of road traffic accidents of all the capital cities of the EU. Information in this regard has just been published. We have been successful in respect of this matter and I note that we do not often draw attention to the successes we enjoy. The fact that we have managed to reduce, to a considerable extent, the number of road traffic accidents which occur in the city does not mean that we can afford to relax our efforts in any way. The Road Safety Authority, which does not necessarily always receive recognition for its work, has done a massive job in respect of this matter in recent times. We should be proud of what has been achieved. We must also recognise that there are things we do well.

I stated earlier that I visited Greece a few months ago. The airport workers went on strike on the Sunday after I arrived and then on the following Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, taxi drivers, bus drivers and rail workers, respectively, also went on strike. In that country the belief is that they can solve the problem by stopping work. It may have been when the Special Olympics were held in this country that people were urged to give of their time for a day free of charge. Is there a possibility that we might restart the campaign in this regard? This might prompt people in Ireland - instead of stopping work - to make a decision to work for free for a day. I accept that they would not all be obliged to do this on the same day but rather could do it over a period. If we decided to do as I suggest, it would send out a message to other countries to the effect that Ireland is seeking to deal with the challenges its faces in a different way.