Sean Barrett (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Leader for arranging the debates on unemployment next week. I would also like to thank colleagues for supporting Senator Quinn's Bill yesterday. The advice communicated from the Attorney General is strange. It suggests that one form of property right - namely, rent - enjoys constitutional protection, while all other forms of income do not. All other forms of income have declined in this recession. Indeed, the Constitutional Convention debated a wider definition of property rights only last weekend. Social welfare payments, wages and other forms of income are not protected by the Constitution. We need to have a wider definition of property rights rather than the one that was used to back up the Government's stance yesterday.