David Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will join the protest and I wish to alert other colleagues to the fact that this protest will be taking place. The treatment of Palestinian children by the Israeli authorities is pretty appalling.

The other matter I wish to mention briefly is the fact that I and other Members of the Seanad have been critical of RTÉ's broadcasting policy in not covering Seanad Éireann at all on many occasions. There are a number of nights when its programmes deal with the Dáil and committees but we are not even seen as being as important as a committee. I had a message from RTÉ this morning asking me to meet with some senior officials about the situation and I will represent the Seanad strongly in the discussions and suggest that a more detailed coverage is necessary. Sometimes our proceedings are bland and irrelevant and on those occasions there is no reason for them to be covered but I can give one instance of when the House should be covered. When Senator Alice-Mary Higgins got a debate on the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, CETA, I spoke to the Fianna Fáil Party and it abstained on the issue, as a result of which we defeated the Government on a major policy issue. The Seanad was not mentioned at all that day, yet when a Member of the Dáil, a woman Deputy, raised it in a glancing fashion on the Order of Business in the Dáil it was all over the television. There must be parity of treatment between Seanad Éireann and Dáil Éireann. We really must be covered when important things arise. I accept that when Senator Mark Daly got the Bill on Irish Sign Language through that was extensively covered and that was a good day for the Seanad but RTÉ should monitor it all the time. I have a feeling there is nobody in RTÉ watching the Seanad so it does not know what is going on. Otherwise it certainly would have picked some instances of days when it did not cover the Seanad at all.