Ned O'Sullivan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Irish Times has indicated today that a Bill on the abolition of the Seanad will be before the Cabinet in the coming two to three weeks. According to the media, the question presented to the people will be on abolition. There will be no option to reform. The axe is being well sharpened. Last week, I invoked Grattan and Flood. I re-invoke them in addressing my comments to the Senators opposite, who are concerned for democracy in this country and have no wish to see the bicameral system ended. They should be vigilant. This side of the House will oppose the Bill strenuously, but we will need some help from the Government side if this invidious Bill is to be defeated.

I support Senator Michael D'Arcy's comments on the enslavement of women. The horrible Cleveland story reminds us of similar stories from Austria and Belgium. Ireland has many cold cases, as the Garda calls them, of missing persons. Some cases date back 20 years. Most involve teenage girls. It must be stressful for their parents to imagine for even a moment that their daughters might be in situations similar to that in Cleveland. The chances are that they are. A prominent retired Garda detective is of the opinion that quite a number of people are incarcerated and being abused and slave raped as we speak. Will the Leader inquire into whether the Minister for Justice and Equality will provide the Garda with additional funding to reactivate its cold case unit? An unsolved case is never taken off the books. The Cleveland police seem to have slipped up with the information provided to them. Vigilant neighbours could probably provide similar information in Dublin, Cork, Limerick or rural areas. There is probably always evidence. It just needs to be found.