David Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I join in the concern expressed by Senator Burke about the difficulties being experienced by the Irish Examiner. It is a very fine newspaper, and I would like to express my sympathy to the 12 printers who have lost their jobs. I am very glad that the Crosby family trust has managed to execute a sophisticated manoeuvre that allowed it to acquire most of the titles, including the Irish Examiner and a number of provincial titles. It is important that we encourage good standards in print journalism, and we should have a debate on the media. I am critical of them, and I reserve the right to be critical of them. Standards have been driven down. That is one of the reasons the appetite for printed newspapers has decreased, as well as the impact of social media and so on.

I raise the attempted eviction of a woman from a house in which she had lived for 60 years near Croke Park. She and her daughter are living in the house. She is terminally ill with cancer, yet an attempt was made yesterday to throw her out on the street. We have this ridiculous prayer recited every morning here. As a Christian, I disapprove of it because it is humbug. Does anybody in this House think that Jesus Christ would throw a woman of a certain age and her daughter out on the street with nowhere to go? I commend her neighbours who joined in solidarity to prevent this, and it was prevented. She was in too frail a condition to be moved into the ambulance. That is a disgrace. It is a reproach to every public representative in this country. If I hear about this kind of thing going on anywhere near me in future, I will be down there doing my best to prevent it. It is also unconstitutional because one is required to take into account the public good. This Government has now given the go-ahead, at the behest of our European masters, to turf out more people. We have been told by the European Central Bank to kick them out onto the road. It is wrong.

I will end by making a positive suggestion, since the question of public consultation has been brought up. There was a moving briefing about the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the Audio Visual Room this morning. Perhaps the four groups could be invited by the Leader into the House, if the matter could be brought before the Committee on Procedure and Privileges. They are Trócaire, Concern, Christian Aid and another.

There are four of them, and it is important during the Presidency and during the period when we have a seat on the Human Rights Council of the United Nations that we move the idea forward. I thank theLeas-Chathaoirleach for indulging me.