Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Senator Landy referred to the review of court services in County Tipperary. I assure him that there is no intention to close the courthouse in Carrick-on-Suir, which was refurbished recently.

A number of Senators discussed the measures to tackle the sale of cheap alcohol. The Minister has promised that the legislation will be before us by the summer. Senators made many points about the abuse of alcohol. Senator Wilson referred to the great level of co-operation between the Ministers on both sides of the Border. The measures will be co-ordinated, so that what happens in Ireland as regards the below-cost sale of alcohol will happen across the Border simultaneously. This is significant. Many Senators stated validly that the money saved from this initiative needed to be ring-fenced for public health measures.

Senators Norris and Gilroy condemned the murder of the Japanese journalist and Jordanian pilot. We would all like to be associated with the Senators' remarks. What happened was appalling. A new barbarity exists, which is most regrettable.

Senators MacSharry and Henry referred to the issue of alcohol and I have addressed that.

Senator Burke discussed attendance levels at accident and emergency departments and the outstanding fees. Responsibility for collecting those fees lies with each hospital. I am sure that hospitals will be following up on the matter. The Senator alluded to the Minister's willingness to include general practitioners, GPs, and representatives of nursing homes on the emergency committee to deal with accident and emergency units and so on. This is important.

Senators Quinn and Craughwell raised the need for banks to treat all customers equally. I agree, but giving benefits to new customers while not extending the same benefits to existing ones seems to be the order of the day. I will bring this matter to the attention of the Minister for Finance.

It was mentioned that there may be a need to protect investors in cloud funding. Senator Quinn has raised this matter several times. The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Bruton, attended the House to discuss it some time ago, but I will impress upon him the possible need for such legislation.

Senator Sheahan asked about the Coroners Bill. I will try to find a date for when the Bill will be on Committee Stage. He also raised the need for a debate on road safety. I will invite the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Donohoe, to the House to address the matter.

Senators Cullinane, Paul Coghlan and others discussed a debt conference. The Greek Government has stated that it does not intend to default on its loans, which is a major change from what we were led to believe was the situation. Some commentators have got it wrong by stating that we should try to emulate Greece. Our economies are fundamentally different. We have an open and dynamic economy with a highly flexible and educated workforce and a high-tech export base. Ireland has successfully exited the bailout and is firmly on the road to recovery without external conditional funding assistance. I do not understand any argument that proposes to derail our recovery and plunge our country back into economic chaos.

As to the matter of a debt conference, there are already forums for discussing debt issues, namely, the Eurogroup and ECOFIN. It was there that Ireland negotiated concessions to reduce our borrowing in the next decade by €50 billion. Without those concessions, we would have been unlikely to exit the bailout and restore growth to the economy. Our government-to-debt ratio fell more quickly last year than did any other eurozone country's and is no longer viewed as being unsustainable by the markets. We are still in the process of restructuring our bailout debts so as to make them even more affordable, having received unanimous European support for refinancing €18 billion of our IMF loans at much lower interest rates, saving the taxpayer at least €1.5 billion.

The option of applying for retrospective capitalisation of our core banks remains on the table but, as the Minister, Deputy Noonan, has made clear, we are also considering other options that might prove better for the Irish taxpayer and would not involve the transfer of ownership of our banking system to a bureaucracy in Luxembourg. We have already committed to recovering all funding that this Government injected into our core banks.

Senator Gilroy called for a debate with the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Fitzgerald, regarding terrorism and, in particular, ISIS. I will try to arrange for it.

Senator O'Donovan discussed the commission of inquiry, a matter that was raised last week and again yesterday. It has been alleged that the terms of reference have changed since they were agreed. I am not sure whether that is the situation, but we will investigate. If the terms of reference have been changed as alleged, the Minister will attend the Seanad. However, I do not propose to accept the amendment to the Order of Business.

Senator Keane stated that today was World Cancer Day and referred to the benefits of early detection. It is right that we outline the successes in the treatment of cancer over the years and compliment everyone working in that field, including Senator Crown.