Sean Barrett (Independent) | Oireachtas source

On behalf of the University Senators, I pay tribute to Bernard Hand. I hope he will drop into the House from time to time because wise counsel is always most welcome here. Reference has already been made to Paddy Cullen.Many stories are told about Paddy, one of the great characters in Irish sport. One was that after four games between Dublin and Meath in 1991, which 250,000 people attended, his team lost the fourth by one point. Sean O’Rourke asked him if there was any future for him in management and he said, “I don’t know. I’m off to the airport. I’ll check if there’s anything for Siberia one-way.” Of course, there was no need for that. Paddy remains one of the great characters and I am sure Bernard also has many stories about him.

Today's edition of The Irish Times contains an article by David Robbins in which he discusses the coverage of climate change issues. Senator Bacik introduced the first Bill here on climate change and we debated the topic yesterday. According to Mr. Robbins, “Irish coverage stood at 10.6 stories per title per month, compared with 58.4 in the rest of Europe.” Our three or four-hour debate yesterday would form the basis for many articles to remedy that deficit. I hope the climate change march in Dublin is a success and, like Senator Bacik, I also hope the Paris conference will a success.

I welcome the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council report. I esteem Professor John McHale and the Ministers involved, Deputies Noonan and Howlin. The warning, however, is that budget 2016 does not address weaknesses with the Government’s medium-term fiscal plans beyond 2016 and multi-year expenditure ceilings are not being implemented. The large increase in spending in 2105 through the Supplementary Estimates process was a deviation from prudent policy. We have to keep that under review. Perhaps one of the Ministers should come to the House to tell us how he sees the situation.

Having wished Bernard a happy retirement, it is a time for congratulations because Senator Norris will receive an honorary doctorate from Trinity College, Dublin at 3 p.m. tomorrow. That is a great honour for the father of the House.