David Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

It is a token of the Government's bad faith, not of the Leader of the House. The Government is not intent on introducing any real reform of the House. It will tinker with the university seats and leave it at that, which is unacceptable.

I also extend words of sympathy to the family of Christine Buckley. I did not know the family, but I have met her daughter. Christine was a very remarkable woman. She had a toughness which she certainly needed to sustain her campaign. In later years certainly, she was a very sharp dresser. She was a glamorous and remarkable woman. We should also remember the part played by the late Mary Raftery in making Christine's story known. She was a very remarkable television person.

Yesterday the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Simon Coveney, made a very important statement in Cork on fluoridation. He announced that an international panel of experts would be established to inquire impartially into the question of fluoridation. I know that Deputy Luke 'Ming' Flanagan has raised the issue consistently in the other House, but we have also raised it in this House. It was raised here after I had unearthed John Gormley's suppressed report on the scientific evidence. The Minister made a commitment to do something about the matter and he has now lived up to his commitment. This is a good day for Seanad Éireann because we all did our job in raising this major issue in the public arena.

Yesterday marked the 55th anniversary of the invasion of Tibet by China. Traditionally, Ireland has held a most honourable position on Tibet. Although Frank Aiken was responsible for introducing Red China to the United Nations, he insisted on the independence of Tibet, a decision which has never been reversed by either House of the Oireachtas. Naturally enough, the Department of Foreign Affairs, now the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, slid away and nastily accepted the absorption of the remarkable country of Tibet. It is different from China in ethnicity, race, religion, geography, approach to life and everything else, but look at the devastation China has wreaked on it.

If I may finish this - I feel very strongly about it - it is important that people like the Dalai Lama be supported, because they show a peaceful way and a way of respect for the environment. At the moment those in Tibet are not even allowed to learn their own language. There are appeals from schoolchildren to be allowed to learn their own language. Some 126 people have burned themselves to death. I am ending on this, a Chathaoirligh, and I am very grateful to you for your gracious indulgence. I learned yesterday that the spouse of one of these people who immolated themselves - I think it was a husband of a woman who was a nun - is being charged with her murder. He did nothing. This utter disrespect for human rights and for the rights of the Tibetan people, their culture, their identity and their religion should be discussed. I ask the Leader if we can please have a debate on Tibet.