Feargal Quinn (Independent) | Oireachtas source

May I add my voice to that of Senators O'Donnell and van Turnhout regarding the vote last week and the gagging of doctors. It is a clear example of the benefit of having a second Chamber. I do not understand the confusion caused and why the Government is so upset. A second Chamber and Independent Members will examine a matter and rather than having a Whip they will voice their opinions. That makes a great deal of sense.

Today we will deal with a number of Bills such as the National Treasury Management Agency Bill and the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland Bill. They are worthwhile so we should have a good debate, criticise them, comment on them and make sure we improve them if we can. When we set up agencies do we check that they work? The Insolvency Service of Ireland was established to see what it could do to help 54,000 mortgages in arrears but it has only written-off 27 personal mortgages in the past year.

It seems that when we set up an agency or organisation to achieve something, we want to follow through and see to it that it is unable to achieve more than it has set out to do. Some 54,000 mortgages are in arrears and only 27 people have had mortgages written off. This is probably due to something we can improve when we criticise legislation passed by the House.