Michael Mullins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I support the call made by my colleague, Senator Aideen Hayden, for an urgent debate with the Minister of State with responsibility for housing on the housing shortage emerging in Dublin and other parts of the country. We need to put in place structures to address the issue as a matter of urgency.

Can we have a debate on the Criminal Assets Bureau which has been in operation for 20 years? It is time to assess whether the legislation needs to be reviewed in the light of the increasing sophistication of criminals operating within and outside the jurisdiction. The work of the Criminal Assets Bureau has been significant, but it is time to examine the legislation under which it was established.

It is welcome that Aer Lingus is having its inaugural flight to San Francisco, to which destination there will be five flights a week. This is of huge significance for Irish businesses, given that so much foreign direct investment in this country is attracted from Silicon Valley. That there were no direct flights to that part of the world was a negative, but the matter has now been addressed. It is of great significance from the point of view of tourism.