Susan O'Keeffe (Labour) | Oireachtas source

On behalf of the Labour Party group, I would like to express our condolences on the enormous tragedy in the United States last week, on the deaths of 20 small children and of the teachers who tried to protect them. I am sure we would all like to express our sorrow and I ask the Leader, on behalf of the Seanad, to write and express this on our behalf.

I agree with Senator O'Brien. I am glad the Minister is able to ringfence that time for the social welfare debate. The Bill is important and has been a cause of concern for many on all sides of the House and in the wider community. I look forward to a robust and fair debate and hope we can reflect not just on the difficulties that have arisen with the Bill, but also look at some of its positive aspects and acknowledge the work that has been done by the Minister, Deputy Burton, and the Cabinet in order to contain and retain enormous levels of payment for the many people who require them.

I acknowledge the comments of the IMF overnight with regard to Ireland and what may happen next year.

I acknowledge its commitment to encouraging our European partners to implement the pledges made in regard to breaking the relationship between sovereign debt and bank debt. If we are struggling next year and growth is poorer in Ireland, given that it will potentially be poorer in the US and Europe, perhaps we will be allowed to defer any further cuts that might arise. This will obviously come into the debate early in the new year. We should certainly acknowledge what it has said.

Finally, I would also like to express our concern about the ongoing difficulties in Northern Ireland. We join with politicians there who have called for peace to be restored in regard to the difficulty over the flying of the Union Jack. Those people might stand back and consider the great damage they are doing to their reputation, both North and South.