Sean Barrett (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I agree with Senators MacSharry and Burke on the need for a debate in the Seanad with the Minister for Finance on financial regulation in Ireland. It is not just that one credit union has cost us €54 million. An insurance company from the UK has had to be bailed out and two foreign banks, Danske and Rabo, have substantially reduced their operations in Ireland. This has all happened within a matter of days.

Five years after the collapse of the banking system, we need to debate financial regulation here. We need the Department of Finance and the Central Bank to take a positive role in this and to explain what they are doing. We also need to examine the role of auditors and accountants and the need for rules that will enforce loan-to-value and debt-to-income ratios. Mention has been made of a €3 million loan from a credit union. This debate is a matter of some urgency as we are not making much progress in this area.

I compliment the Taoiseach on completing 38 years in the Oireachtas today. I look forward to 38 years' more co-operation between the Seanad and whoever is Taoiseach of the day. I also compliment the Lord Mayor of Belfast, Máirtín Ó Muilleoir, for attending the Remembrance Day ceremonies in Belfast yesterday. This was another step forward in the peace process. I met the Lord Mayor in Toronto at the weekend where he was energetically promoting Belfast tourism and the peace process. I bring greetings from the Speaker of the Senate of Canada, Mr. Noel Kinsella, who has strong connections with this city and who lived in Leeson Street as a student. He was delighted with the popular vote to retain the Seanad in this country because tomorrow a court case begins in the Canadian Supreme Court, with five provinces taking a case against the abolition of the Canadian Senate. We have a lot in common with Canada and people there are delighted with the verdict given by the people in our referendum. One of the positive aspects of bicameralism - I am aware the Leader has been developing these points - is that it is a bulwark against monopoly. An interesting Canadian project in co-operation with Saudi Arabia is to promote a bicameral system in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Arabian draft proposes a strong female representation. This is a positive development and one hopes these female representatives will be allowed to drive to the meetings on the bicameralism system that Canada seeks to export to Saudi Arabia.

Bicameralism is an important part of extending democracy worldwide. I know how much the Leader has developed this House internally. Perhaps there could be a joint initiative to extend that to countries that need the democracy bicameralism brings.