John Whelan (Labour) | Oireachtas source

On a day when the Oireachtas and the entire country are convulsed by revelations of bugging and the question of who is bugging whom, I raise an issue that is bugging me and people throughout the midlands who have a grá and affection for and an affinity with our inland waterways, namely, the actions of Waterways Ireland. As the previous speaker pointed out, we are hardly run off our feet in this Chamber. In fact, it is an absolute disgrace that for the second week in a row the House is sitting for only one and a half days. In making this point, I mean to cast no reflection on Members, the Leader or anyone attending the Seanad. An attempt was made to kill us off in a referendum, but it did not succeed. An effort was made to remove our ability to have a workplace and that, too, failed. Now they are trying to kill us with kindness by denying us an adequate legislative schedule and refusing to make Ministers available.