Michael Mullins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Every public representative and every politician in this House and the other House, of all parties and none, have raised this issue over a long period of time. I hope we will soon see some developments. I support the idea put forward by Senator Coghlan of the independent objective assessment of the rates being charged and likely to be charged. There is a lot of merit in the idea.

I repeat my call for a debate on banking, banking charges and our banking system. There is another element to this, namely, the hardship being endured by small businesses, particularly cash businesses, on which I spoke earlier in the week. I ask the Leader to arrange that debate so that we can flesh out the issue and give it the sort of prominence that the variable interest rate issue has received.

I join with Senator Bacik in welcoming the appointment today of the Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality, Deputy Ó Ríordáin, to head up the national drugs strategy. We have a drugs abuse crisis in this country and it is of major proportions. Young lives and families in every town and village are being destroyed. Major costs are being inflicted on our health service as a result of drug abuse and drug problems. The cause of much criminality in our communities is linked to the drug trade. There is evidence that many suicides in the country are a result of drug abuse or pressure inflicted on young people by people in the drug trade. I welcome the appointment of the Minister of State, Deputy Ó Ríordáin, and would very much welcome an early debate in this House on all aspects of the drugs problem in this country and how we can devise a major campaign and strategy to address this crisis for once and for all.