Ned O'Sullivan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I second Senator Crown's amendment.

I commend Senator Power on her amendment in respect of recognition of State of Palestine. The House has been to the forefront in the matter over the years. A former Leader of the House, Mick Lanigan, was very involved. I do not intend to anticipate the current Leader but I understand this may have the agreement of the House, in which case it would be a fairly historic event. I wish the ambassador and his team well.

On another note entirely I call on the Minister with responsibility for trade to come to the House for a debate on the Irish textile industry, in particular the Irish menswear business. It is something I know a little about because my family was involved in the business for five generations. I did some research lately and I noted that when I took over the business from my late father in 1989 over 73% of my invoices were being paid to Irish companies. If I were still active in the business that would be down as low as 10% or 15% today. If the men present were to look inside the lapels of the jackets of their suits - mine is Magee of Donegal, by the way - many of them would see German and Italian labels. There has been a long tradition, particularly in County Donegal, in the shirt business, as Senator Ó Domhnaill knows, and the suit business, which is struggling. Many jobs are at stake. Some of these are already are being sourced in Third World countries, unfortunately, to compete with the Lidls and Aldis, which are selling suits for €99. A man should see what wear he can get out of them. It is time, while there is still an Irish indigenous menswear business, be it tweed or fine cloths, to debate the matter and to try to help the business in every way we can.