Feargal Quinn (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Senator Craughwell to the House. He made a very interesting election for us. It is not often that we have by-elections for this House but he certainly made it very interesting. I congratulate Senator Craughwell and look forward to a long and fruitful period serving with him in the House.

I am concerned about competition. I am a great believer in it but I keep my eyes open. There has been far less competition in the petrol and oil business than used to be the case. A number of petrol stations have closed down. I read recently there has been a reduction of 16% in the Brent oil price, yet there does not appear to be any reduction in the price of fuel in petrol stations around the country, certainly not in Dublin as far as I am aware. That is something that would be worthy of debate in the House to see whether we are managing to establish competition in the fuel business to ensure citizens are getting the best value.

A biography was recently published on T.K. Whitaker. He is a man whom I have gotten to know over the years and I regard him very highly. He did a review many years ago on the Prison Service. It is worthwhile looking again at the review because I understand the suggestions and recommendations he proposed have never been fully implemented. He will be 98 years of age in early December but he is full of energy and vigour and he is still thinking as actively as he ever thought. It would be worthwhile to have a debate on the review of the Prison Service he did so many years ago, which I understand has never been fully implemented.