Mary White (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State and thank her for attending. All of us here, on both sides of the Chamber, are very pleased that the people voted "No" to the abolition of the Seanad.

Fianna Fáil supports the excellent motion in the names of Senators Denis Landy and John Whelan which is at the core of many of our problems. I thank them for tabling the motion. Deputy Barry Cowen produced a Fianna Fáil policy paper on the revitalisation of Irish towns. He was assisted in this work by a great young man, a town planner, who works in the Fianna Fáil research office, Mr. Kevin Dillon, who understands that planning issues are at the core of this subject.

I have taken an initiative on retailing in Ireland. The sector employs approximately 250,000 people. As the Minister of State has said, more than 40,000 people have already lost their jobs in the retail sector. Each job lost in the region leads to suffering by the families and children. I am organising a conference entitled Revitalising Retailing in Dundrum Town Centre at 11.30 a.m. on Thursday, 12 December 2013. It is open to all retailers in the city and around the country. This event will be co-hosted by Mr. Don Nugent, director of Dundrum Town Centre. I disagree with Senator John Whelan who spoke in a derogatory way about the large multiples because they employ people.