Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I do not know what to make of the exchanges that have just taken place. I am very glad to hear the reassurance from Senator O'Donnell that the female Senators in this House never heckle.

We should all welcome the new dairy processing facility in Belview Port announced by Glanbia. It will create 75 direct jobs in Kilkenny and we might say that the cats have got the cream yet again. The really good news is the 1,600 spin-off jobs around the country. It is excellent news for rural Ireland in particular. It is a reminder, yet again, of how much a driver of progress and positivity agriculture is in rural Ireland. It is worth €10 billion in terms of Irish exports. An uplift in dairy production will be required to provide the raw material for the facility. It is very reassuring for those involved in agriculture in Ireland and for all of those who are keen to see stimulation of the economy in those parts of Ireland, such as smaller towns and villages that have not yet benefitted from whatever good news there has been in recent times.

I am torn between admiration and horror in regard to the news about the money Sinn Féin has managed to raise in the United States. I would say, "Good luck to them" in one breath, but when it tells us that none of the money was spent south of the Border and it was all spent in the North I have to say, "Pull the other one." It is not just North of the Border that Sinn Féin has so many people working full-time for the party. I will not quibble at any organisation's fundraising ability, but it is time for us to consider whether we have the mechanisms in place in this country to allow us to scrutinise properly from where political funding comes and is spent. We have a laughable situation whereby all donations under €600 to an individual politician simply do not have to be disclosed. That is not a transparent system of fundraising. We pretend to have accountability in these matters, but in reality there is no accountability.