Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)
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The Order of Business is No. 1, Electoral (Amendment) (Dáil Constituencies) Bill 2012 - Committee and Remaining Stages, to be taken on the conclusion of the Order of Business.

Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)
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I wish the Cathaoirleach a good afternoon.

Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael)
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Will this be a better Opposition?

Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)
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My party will not oppose the Order of Business today because it is important to pass the Electoral (Amendment) (Dáil Constituencies) Bill as quickly as possible. This is because one never knows what will happen in the near future.

Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael)
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Pull the other one.

Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)
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Consequently, the new constituencies are needed and Iy will not delay them today or ask for an amendment to the Order of Business in those circumstances.

Tip O'Neill once observed that all politics are local and in these circumstances-----

Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael)
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The Senator took him at his word.

Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)
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-----I wish to ask the Leader of the House, Senator Cummins, who is my colleague on the Labour Panel, to request the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Coveney, to come into this House to consider this morning's protest by the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association at the offices of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Golf Links Road, Roscommon. The protest was attended by a number of people because there is great concern that the front desk will be closed and transferred to Naas, where all queries regarding TB and other issues that arises in respect of the services will be dealt with. These services are invaluable to the farmers of County Roscommon and surrounding areas and include, for instance, paperwork for EU payments, animal passports, issues relating to TB testing and so on. There is no substitute for face-to-face contact in these matters as the help of experienced local staff is invaluable and often can prevent small issues escalating into big problems.

I strongly believe the downgrading of this busy and effective service would have negative consequences for the farming community of County Roscommon and urge the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to maintain the facility at its current level. I also appeal to the Irish Farmers Association, IFA, to get involved in this campaign and to use its powers and exert its influence. The farming community contributes more to the IFA than to the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association and the former should use its clout to prevent a downgrading of services.

If the Minister is not available, the Leader should get the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Shatter, to come into the House to consider the blow to the people of north County Roscommon on the announcement this morning that the Garda headquarters in Boyle, County Roscommon will be closed between the hours of 6 p.m. and 10 a.m.

Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)
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Law-abiding people.

Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)
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This is a major blow to the people of that area from a security perspective. No one would wish for this to happen in any community but I note in particular that Boyle is the capital of north Roscommon. In addition, the stations at Cootehall, Loughglynn and Tarmonbarry have been closed.

All those local Garda stations have closed but a regional Garda station has been amalgamated with Castlerea. This is a major blow to the constituency. I cannot understand why the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Shatter, has a desire to remove a service such as the courthouse in Boyle and other services from County Roscommon. I appeal to him on the matter at this stage. I hope the Fine Gael Deputy elected for Roscommon will at long last use his influence to try to prevent the further downgrading of the county.

Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)
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He has done a lot already.

Ivana Bacik (Independent)
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I wish to raise an issue that has been in the newspapers recently concerning the heel prick test, which is the screening test operated by the HSE under what is known as the national newborn blood spot screening programme. It is a screening programme for six rare genetic diseases and more recently also for cystic fibrosis. The results of the heel prick tests on newborns are kept on Guthrie cards in Temple Street Children?s Hospital. I understand that the results from 1984 to 2002 are currently kept there but recently the Government announced that they would be destroyed. The reason I raise the issue today is that parents have two more weeks to seek to retain the records of their newborn child. The deadline is 31 March. The Data Protection Commissioner ruled some years ago that it was in breach of data protection laws that the screening cards would be retained.

David Norris (Independent)
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It is lamentable.. It is bureaucratic rubbish.

Ivana Bacik (Independent)
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I agree with Senator Norris. It is bureaucratic nonsense. Professor David McConnell, the Trinity College genetics professor, has likened the future destruction of the records to the modern equivalent of burning the Custom House or destroying the birth certificates of all born in Ireland.

David Norris (Independent)
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Hear, hear.

Ivana Bacik (Independent)
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He said it would be a disaster and an appalling act of cultural and social vandalism because of the enormous value that the Guthrie cards can provide for future health programmes for the Irish people generally and to add to our knowledge and information about genetic conditions in the population. It does seem appalling that the cards are to be destroyed. The critical issue at this point is to inform people of their right to intervene between now and 31 March. The HSE needs to do more to inform parents of the need to ensure that their children?s cards are retained if they wish to do so, by 31 March.

David Norris (Independent)
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It is against the public good.

Ivana Bacik (Independent)
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It is in the common good, but it is also very much in the interests of their children and families that the cards would be retained. I have been asked by various people to raise the issue. It is a hugely important one that has been in the news but it is critical at this point that people would act.

I congratulate the Trinity Jail Break team, a team of Trinity law students who have been raising money for charity ? the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and Amnesty International ? by becoming involved in Jail Break ? it is not really a jail break-----

Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)
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That is a great relief.

Ivana Bacik (Independent)
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-----they have to go as far as possible without spending any of their own money. Two students have got as far as Argentina and won the prize. It is a great initiative that has received a lot of publicity and raised much money for the chosen charities.

Rónán Mullen (Independent)
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I too welcome you back, a Chathaoirligh. I would like very much if we could have a debate at an early opportunity about last week?s decision in the High Court on the issue of surrogacy. Others have referred to the matter in this House, including Senator Norris. It is one of those areas where we should not wait to see what the Government comes forward with but because this is a very sensitive and complex issue we as a Seanad should examine the issue ourselves.

There are many different issues to be considered. I am concerned about the emotional minefield that is involved in surrogacy. I am very concerned about the way the rights of children are treated in this case. I am also concerned about the commercialisation of women, and particularly the use of power and the relative economic disadvantage between those who ?commission? children, to use that word, and those who act as surrogates. Many countries such as France and Austria have banned surrogacy and egg donation outright. They were right to do so. It has also been banned in countries such as Italy, Norway and Germany. The European Court of Human Rights has upheld their right to prohibit surrogacy in their laws.

The mood music, in so far as there is any from Government, is that it would legislate to permit surrogacy in some way. We should have a debate on the issue rather than accept Government intentions as a fait accompli. There are major human issues involved, in particular issues relating to children?s right to their identity and to know who their parents are, and as far as possible to be brought up by their parents.

This is a children's rights and human rights issue and we should debate it soon.

I also support the calls made in this House last week by Senator Hayden for a debate on the funding of fee paying schools. Frankly, I do not understand the begrudgery that exists about the right of parents to subvent the education of their children to a basic minimum level of funding for that education by way of the payment of teachers. Already it is the case that private fee paying schools have higher pupil-teacher ratios. The McCarthy report urges that the pupil-teacher ratio be 28:1. In fact, that is saying that anyone who dares subvent their children's education by the payment of fees must go it alone completely. That amounts to a form of bullying by the State and it discourages something we should encourage, the desire that some parents have when they have the resources to contribute to their children's education. I support extra funding for children in disadvantaged schools so we can also enable them in the pursuit of excellence but the one-size-fits-all policy is not to be encouraged.

I regret the fact that Sinn Féin has activated a petition in the Northern Assembly to block a very sensible amendment that would ensure whatever procedures that are to be permitted would be undertaken on the NHS. I am talking about abortion. We have the bizarre situation that this move by Sinn Féin effectively facilitates an abortion privateer in the form of the Marie Stopes Clinic, which even by the standards of abortion providers, does not have a good reputation. This is a cynical move by Sinn Féin and it is time the party stopped speaking out of both sides of its mouth, saying it is anti-abortion while doing everything to facilitate its provision.

Michael Mullins (Fine Gael)
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We have had many debates and discussions on job creation and high unemployment levels. I saw comments by Louise Phelan, the Irish head of PayPal, where she said that young graduates are completely unprepared for work, not hungry enough to succeed in today's environment, and that they have a sense of entitlement, expecting everything to be handed to them on a plate. She said they have great graduates working in PayPal but others arrive with a sense of entitlement, unprepared for the workplace in which they are to operate. We all wonder why this is. Is it because during the property bubble everything seemed so much easier and everyone seemed to succeed?

Ms Phelan talked about Ireland being a great place in which to do business but worries that the younger generation is woefully unprepared for the workplace. We must have a debate with the Minister on how multinational companies view Ireland, our graduates and their preparedness for work. If Ms Phelan's feelings are shared by other multinational companies, we should be seriously worried about future investment. We must discuss this with the Minister as a matter of urgency. I would ask the Leader to facilitate that debate in the coming weeks.

Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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I wish to raise a parochial but important issue, and I would like the Leader to get some information for me on the future of Dursey Island cable car. For those who do not know it, Dursey Island is one of the most remote and isolated parts of the country. It was the last place the people who sailed from Cobh saw as they left Ireland on the RMS Titanic before the ill-fated ship hit the iceberg.

A small number of people still live on this island, while many other islanders who moved to the mainland continue to have farms or land on the island. Their only access is the cable car which was built some 35 years ago. We were informed a few days ago that, for insurance reasons, the cable car would be repaired and would not operate for two or three weeks. I am also reliably informed that the cost of upgrading the cable car to make it safe would be in the region of ¤1 million.

The people of the isolated island of Dursey and those who use the cable car daily must receive fair play and fair treatment. We hear about rights for the diaspora and so forth but we must also look after our own people living in remote areas with the threat of being cut off. Dursey Sound, the stretch of water between Dursey Island and the mainland at the end of the Beara Peninsula, is extremely treacherous. While there is a pier, dangerous currents mean it is not safe to make the crossing, especially with animals, for as many as 200 days of the year. I do not wish to be parochial but I believe I must make this appeal on behalf of those who have been fighting this battle for the past two years. Everyone, whether he or she is from Dublin 4, Dursey Island or west Cork, should enjoy the same rights. The people affected have a cloud of uncertainty hanging over them and are seeking nothing more than fair play. They are entitled to access the island and use their lands and houses. The common practice of bringing cattle, sheep and other farm animals back and forth on the cable car is being hindered, which is a form of discrimination against the people of the island. I ask the Leader to consider arranging a debate on this matter or, alternatively, to have the appropriate Minister provide me with a detailed statement on the future of the Dursey Island cable car.

Mary Moran (Labour)
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I raise concerns about conditions in children's hospitals as we await the construction of the new national children's hospital in Dublin. On a recent stay in a Dublin children's hospital with my son, I was horrified to see the conditions to which parents and children are subjected. Although the nursing care provided was second to none and the nurses were fantastic, I was alarmed at the cramped conditions in the hospital. Patients share tiny rooms with two beds which are suitable for only one bed. Extremely sick children are accommodated in rooms while their parents sleep on floors with less than 12 in. of space available to them. This is totally unacceptable in 2013. During my visit, no one had privacy and when a doctor wished to speak to a family, the other family sharing the room had to leave. I also saw nurses step over parents to check on patients.

With regard to the parental accommodation available at the hospital, which I checked out, while I was grateful the hospital had accommodation available for parents, it was seriously deficient for parents who must stay in it for any length of time or who are unfamiliar with Dublin or have no other contacts in the city. The facilities for parents to wash and shower were, I regret to say, absolutely appalling. The ceiling of the shower that I saw was covered in black mould. I took a photograph to show to the Minister for Health, Deputy Reilly. Notwithstanding the state of the economy, conditions in our children's hospitals should not be allowed to slip while we wait for a new children's hospital.

Some ¤39 million has been spent on planning and designing a new children's hospital on the now defunct Mater Hospital site. It would cost a tiny fraction of this sum to improve parental accommodation in the hospital I visited. We owe it to children and their parents to provide the best possible supports when children are in hospital as this is a time when parents and children are very vulnerable.

Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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Is the Senator seeking a debate on the issue?

Mary Moran (Labour)
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Yes. I was concerned that someone had written in a book of comments for parents the following comment: "Thank you for giving me the opportunity to be near my child." The child in question was particularly sick and being near one's child should not be considered something for which parents should be grateful. Parents have a right to look after our sick children when they are in hospital. Our children deserve the best when they are at their most vulnerable.

I read recently a comment by the Minister for Health that the new children's hospital will be a beacon of light for everyone in paediatric care.

I read recently that the Minister for Health, Deputy Reilly, said the new children's hospital will be a beacon of light for all of us in paediatric care. It is now envisaged that the hospital will not be built until 2018. I call on the Minister to come to the House to assure us that the standards in our existing hospital will be maintained while we await the building of the new one.

Sean Barrett (Independent)
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In pages 1, 8 and 26 of the Irish Independent today, there is a long series of articles on education. One is entitled "CAO shake-up to take heat out of points race". The CAO is simply a device by which a scarce number of university places are allocated among people about to sit the leaving certificate examination, and that is all it is. The article states, "The initial step will be a dramatic reduction in the number of courses available to [new] CAO applicants". As with so much in education these days, this provision comes courtesy of six quangos, a virtual alphabet soup including IUA, IOTI, SEC, HEA and NCCA. I am sure there are more in the wings. The bodies are against specialised courses and want to reduce the number of options on the basis that it will reduce stress. There are so many non sequiturs that it is hard to know where to begin. Points are a good guide to how students perform, and a lack of points is a good guide to suggesting who will not be able to cope with third level. The CAO is inexpensive and is certainly preferable to interviews, letter writing or representations, as we know in a society that is so wedded to clientelism. The degrees meet the standards of international external examiners.

We should not present false dawns to people who are studying hard for their examinations. We wish them every success. So much does not hang together in the three pages of the Irish Independent that one would be worried if any students were taken away from their studies by bothering with it. A lack of points is an indicator that life will be difficult. Getting points is, of course, difficult, but the number of places we are trying to allocate at third level is lower than the number of applicants. The CAO, founded by a former Provost of Trinity College, Mr. Bill Watts, is the equitable way to do that. I sometimes believe less emphasis on bureaucracy and more on what happens in the classroom is an example that Irish university heads should follow.

Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael)
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I agree very much with Senator O'Donovan, who is concerned about the plight of the people of Dursey Island. I hope the matter can be resolved satisfactorily soon in the residents' favour.

Much rubbish has been spoken on the property tax. Yesterday morning on Radio Kerry, I had an encounter with a certain Senator who is not present.

Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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Is the Senator seeking a debate on this issue?

Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael)
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We are past debates. Essentially, I do not see why we should be divided on this issue. The Leader might clarify the matter. The commitment to a property tax is a commitment that the current Government inherited from its predecessor. I hate to see people opposing a measure they introduced themselves. I tried to make this point yesterday but want to reinforce it today. There should not be any confusion on this matter. Information is widespread. Since yesterday, we have the relevant information on the www.revenue.ie website, and there is a property price register. There are so many different ways of checking what a property is worth that there can be no doubt whatsoever. One does not have to accept the listed value as the tax is self-assessed. One will know the trends in one's area and there will be comparative data available.

David Norris (Independent)
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Will we have to pay a professional a fee to assess our property?

Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael)
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One will not have to do that at all. The Senator should consult me afterwards.

David Norris (Independent)
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I will.

Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)
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Is the Senator not to be a valuer?

Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael)
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I would be delighted. What the Senator suggested will not be necessary at all.

Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)
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Is he not an auctioneer or valuer?

Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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Senator Coghlan without interruption.

Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael)
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If one is dissatisfied with the guide price, one can make that clear to the Revenue Commissioners, which will be reasonable. It is a self-assessed tax.

Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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Is the Senator seeking a debate on this issue?

Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael)
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A debate is not necessary. I mention no names and I am not advertising-----

David Norris (Independent)
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Here comes the dictatorship. No debate necessary. Abolish the Seanad.

Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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Has the Senator a question for the Leader?

Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael)
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I am sure the Leader will clarify that this is a measure that we have inherited, whether we like it or not.

Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)
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From whom?

Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael)
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The previous Administration. You know those guys well.

Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)
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Do not blame us.

Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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Does the Senator have a question for the Leader?

Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael)
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The Leader can clarify what I am asking.

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein)
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I dtosach báire, ba mhaith liom tagairt don méid a bhí le rá ag mo chomhghleacaí as Gaillimh, an Seanadóir Michael Mullins. Arís, tá sé ag déanamh mí-chur síos ar an méid atá á dhéanamh ag Sinn Féin ó Thuaidh agus ó Dheas. Is trua é nár fhan sé leis an bhfreagra a chlos. I wish to put on record that Senator Mullins has misrepresented the Sinn Féin policy once more from his lofty pedestal. It is a shame he did not stay to hear the retort to that. It is to be hoped that it will be possible at some stage to discuss the issue.

I have great time for my esteemed colleague, Senator Paul Coghlan, who has just spoken, but I wonder what planet he is living on after seeing some of the newspaper reports of recent days. Figures published by the Commission for Energy Regulation show the number of houses that are connected to gas and electricity meters. They also show that 2,479 domestic customers had their gas supply cut off between July and September last year. In addition, 4,181 households had electricity disconnected in the third quarter of 2012. Over the past two years, gas and electricity prices have risen by an average of 30%, with further increases likely later this year. A total of 6,572 homes had their gas supply cut off in the first nine months of 2012, more than the total for the previous year. Similarly, 12,854 households had their electricity supply cut off in the first three quarters of 2012, in addition to the almost 17,800 customers disconnected during 2011. The issue about the property tax is not how it should be collected but about the people who do not have the ability to pay.

David Norris (Independent)
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Hear, hear.

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein)
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What about all the households who cannot afford to pay a property tax?

Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael)
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That is provided for.

Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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Senator Ó Clochartaigh, without interruption.

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein)
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To tell this House that there were no options is completely untrue. The Government had many options, but it took the option of following the tweedledum and tweedledee politics of Fianna Fáil.

Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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Does the Senator have a question for the Leader?

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein)
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I do.

Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael)
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We inherited it.

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein)
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You inherited it, but you did not have to follow it. We suggested other options.

Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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Senator Ó Clochartaigh, without interruption.

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein)
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I have asked my question on a number of occasions. When will we have a debate in these Houses on how to measure poverty in Ireland today? It is quite obvious that there are households that are really struggling at present.

Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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Senator, you are way over time.

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein)
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They are in poverty, and we must address that. The property tax will only compound their situation. It should be scrapped as soon as possible.

Jimmy Harte (Labour)
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Could we invite the Minister for Education and Skills, or the Minister of State at the Department of Education and Skills, to the House to discuss the Student Universal Support Ireland, SUSI, near-fiasco? The City of Dublin VEC and SUSI must clarify some issues that are cropping up in the offices of many Members. There is one that arises in Donegal, where many of the people go to college across the Border. A number of them were told that their fees and maintenance grant were covered, but a week or even three or four months later they were told they were not covered. In one case I am dealing with, the girl concerned intended to study pharmacy in Belfast. She was told that her fees would not be covered but that she would get her maintenance grant. However, a week later she got another letter stating she would not get her maintenance grant. This is a feature of SUSI and the Minister must address it. The only explanation I can offer is that the people who are processing the SUSI applications have not been properly briefed on the issue of fees across the Border. Obviously, 90% to 95% of the applications they deal with relate to colleges in the South. However, we have documentary evidence that people are being told in a letter received one week that they have a maintenance grant and possibly fees covered, but the following week they receive a letter stating the opposite. I ask the Leader to invite the Minister to the House to outline the training procedure the City of Dublin VEC undertook to establish who is and is not entitled to fees.

Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail)
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I would like to ask the Leader for a debate on what actions the Government proposes to take in regard to the mortgage crisis. What has characterised the Government in this regard since the general election two years ago has been inaction and indifference. When we first proposed the Family Home Bill in this House in July 2011, the Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Deputy Brian Hayes, proclaimed how the code of conduct on mortgage arrears was working exceptionally well and that there was no need for such legislation, and those were his exact words. Following that, we produced the Debt Settlement and Mortgage Resolution Office Bill in October 2011. We then produced the Regulation of Debt Management and Advisors Bill in May 2012 but all we have had from the Government is the Personal Insolvency Act which the Minister hopes will be up and running by July.

Senator Ó Clochartaigh highlighted some of the rises in costs for families, including energy costs and so on. The shambles of the property tax and what is expected of people in terms of valuing their houses is further compounded by the fact that we were able to rush through legislation for a property tax but it has taken us two and a half years to bring in personal insolvency legislation which puts the banks completely in control. Will the Leader ask the Taoiseach if he trusts the banks to deal in an honest and a fair way with the mortgage crisis, which has been going on for so many years? Some 182,000 mortgages are in arrears out of a total of 942,000 mortgages. All we have seen is complete inaction. What is truly lying at the heart-----

Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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Senator MacSharry, without interruption.

Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail)
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What is truly lying at the heart of this problem, and what Senator Barrett so often talks about-----

Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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Has the Senator a question for the Leader?

Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail)
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-----is the back stairs to the Department of Finance, which the banks specifically enjoy. We saw the fruits of that. The Secretary General of the Department admitted to the people that there will be lots of repossessions and that people cannot expect the taxpayer to help them. They certainly cannot expect the Government to help them.

Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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Senator MacSharry, you are way over time.

Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail)
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All we have had is rhetoric, most recently throughout the weekend when the Government said it would deal with this now and finally get to the bottom of this crisis. The crisis is so large that I was two years on the other side of the House talking about. Now I am two years on this side of the House and all we have heard is the usual bluff and bluster from a Government which is in denial. It will satisfy the eurocrats, leave the banks in command and will do nothing for the people.

Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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Senator MacSharry, you are way over time.

Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail)
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We hear again about the Personal Insolvency Act. The banks are in control. We should get Richie Boucher or somebody to come in as Secretary General of the Department. At least then we would be able to ensure that all of the-----

Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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Senator MacSharry, you are way over time.

Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)
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It has hit a note with the Government.

Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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Senator Leyden, you have spoken already.

Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)
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Senator MacSharry hit a sensitive note with his point.

Colm Burke (Fine Gael)
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I remind Senator MacSharry that-----

Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail)
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The Leader should answer the question. Senator Burke does not have to respond to me.

Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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Senator Burke, without interruption.

Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail)
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Senator Burke was not even a Member of the House when I was calling for the implementation of measures to deal with the mortgage crisis. In the two years he has been here, I have not heard him bring it up.

Colm Burke (Fine Gael)
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Is Senator MacSharry afraid of the truth?

Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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Senator MacSharry, can you respect the Chair? Senator Burke, do you have a question for the Leader?

Colm Burke (Fine Gael)
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I was just trying to remind Senator MacSharry that he did not seem to have difficulty in trusting the banks a number of years ago when we gave all the guarantees.

Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail)
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Senator Burke was not a Member of the House. He should check the record and he will see I was talking about this issue. It is four years since I brought forward legislation. The Minister was in denial.

Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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Senator MacSharry, please.

Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail)
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The Cathaoirleach should ask Senator Burke to speak through the Chair. Has he a question for the Leader? What is his question? My question was what the Government is doing about the mortgage crisis. We have been asking about it for four years but we are still in denial.

Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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Senator MacSharry, can you please respect the Chair? You were way over time when you spoke and now you are interrupting this speaker. Senator Burke, have you a question for the Leader?

Colm Burke (Fine Gael)
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We have no difficulty whatsoever in dealing with the banking crisis and the Minister has set out quite clear criteria to the banks on how to deal with mortgages in distress.

Senator Rónán Mullen raised the surrogacy issue. There is now a High Court judgment. In fairness, the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Shatter, set out in a memorandum guidelines on dealing with some aspects of surrogacy. People are travelling to places as far away as Ukraine, India and the United States for surrogacy. We need to deal with this. I agree with Senator Mullen that we should have a debate. It is not a matter we should allow to be kicked around for the next 20 years in the way others were left following the judgment in the X case.

No doubt the Minister will deal with this matter in a calculated way to ensure that we put in place the appropriate legislation to deal with this complex and difficult area. There is a High Court judgment. Let us have a debate and look at putting in place the proper structure of legislation to deal with this issue. I ask that the Leader ask the Minister to come to the House for that debate on this area at the earliest possible date.

David Norris (Independent)
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My colleague on the University benches, Senator Rónán Mullen, is a constant apostle for calm, serious and respectful debate without name-calling. It was, therefore, with a certain amount of surprise, despite the history of these matters, that he described the Marie Stopes Clinic as abortion privateers. I am not 100% sure how that fits into calm, serious and respectful debate, but no doubt it is a predictor for what will happen. The clinic has been going for a long time. It has international respect.

Senator Mullen raised this in the context of Sinn Féin exercising its constitutional and parliamentary rights in the North of Ireland to put a petition. I attended the meeting that was organised there, rather curiously, by the Democratic Unionist Party, DUP. At this tea and bun session, when I counted, there were 16 men and three women present, which I thought was quite interesting, and a letter was flourished from the Reverend Dr. Ian Paisley. I asked a number of questions, including whether this was the Dr. Paisley who had so signally failed to save Ulster from sodomy.

They did not answer the question that is referred to, rather unfortunately, in the letter I also received today from the Supreme Knight of Columbanus, who appears to be completely against allowing this regrettable procedure to take place in circumstances where the young woman has been the victim of rape or incest, or whether what she is carrying is a nerveless, brainless, headless piece of tissue, which is a matter that was referred to in a most dignified and tragic letter by a young woman some years ago. It is obscene for these persons to try to force the situation on them.

Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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Does Senator Norris have a question for the Leader?

David Norris (Independent)
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I have. Can we have a calm, serious and respectful debate on the issue of abortion?

I agree with my colleagues, including Senator MacSharry, on the question of evictions. It is probably unconstitutional. I am in the curious position of having taken an action against the State where it agreed with all the evidence that I presented but stated it could not grant me relief because of the Christian nature of the State. That is a legal judgment of the High Court, also certified by the Supreme Court, and yet we are throwing people out on the side of the road. We are told that our actions as legislators and as a State must be Christian, but we are firing out old age pensioners and we talk about moral hazard for individuals.

Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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Senator Norris is way over time.

David Norris (Independent)
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Why are these suspended when it is the banks?

Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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I call Senator Hayden.

David Norris (Independent)
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I will end on this point, if I may. After I spoke last week on this question of eviction, which I regard as an obscenity, I gather that the Secretary General of the Department of Finance appeared to suggest that there were not enough evictions. I cannot think of anything more half-baked. Apart from the moral issue, if one evicts all of these borrowers - there are tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of them - one will destroy the very market one is trying to reflate.

Aideen Hayden (Labour)
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I had been planning on going to the theatre later this week. I gather "King Lear" is an excellent production.

Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)
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It would be a nice break.

Aideen Hayden (Labour)
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I no longer need bother because I have had my fill of dramatics for one week.

Catherine Noone (Fine Gael)
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Hear, hear.

Aideen Hayden (Labour)
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I wish to say "Well done" to Senator MacSharry. He has truly missed his vocation.

Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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Does the Senator have a question for the Leader?

Aideen Hayden (Labour)
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I do.

Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail)
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This is not about dramatics.

Aideen Hayden (Labour)
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I am glad that he pointed out one valid piece of information. He said that the mortgages and mortgage distress situation did not happen today or yesterday.

Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail)
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Absolutely, it was four years ago.

Aideen Hayden (Labour)
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It has been going on for a very considerable number of years.

Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail)
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The Senator's track record is that she voted against the legislation and it was defeated by three votes.

Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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Senator Hayden please, without interruption.

Aideen Hayden (Labour)
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I ask Senator MacSharry to bear one thing in mind.

Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail)
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They do not like it.

Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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Does the Senator have a question for the Leader?

Aideen Hayden (Labour)
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I do.

Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail)
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Kick it down the road for another one.

Aideen Hayden (Labour)
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In 2002 there was clear evidence that the housing market was overheating. Senator MacSharry's Government brought in measures-----

Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail)
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I was never in government.

Aideen Hayden (Labour)
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-----that led to ordinary men and women paying ten times the average industrial wage for an ordinary family home. It is incredible to be lectured on mortgage distress by that side of the House.

David Norris (Independent)
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We both were here at the same time. I was here in the House.

Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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Does the Senator have a question for the Leader?

Aideen Hayden (Labour)
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I again ask the Leader to invite the Minister for Finance to come here to discuss in a calm and a reasoned way the issue of mortgages, mortgage relief and debt.

Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail)
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What about repossessions? What about inviting the Secretary General of the Department?

Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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The Senator has spoken already and I ask him to respect the Chair.

Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail)
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I suppose the officials are all right. The Frankfurt way is going well.

Aideen Hayden (Labour)
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A house in every field and a portfolio of properties for every taxi driver was his party's idea of the Irish home.

There is a serious issue related to the buy-to-let mortgage market. The Minister for Finance has made it clear that he does not see the buy-to-let mortgage market as one that needs to be protected. He has indicated that they should be repossessed. One in every five people live in a buy-to-let property. They live in the rental sector. There could be serious issues for ordinary people and families, and people with children, if we do not handle the matter carefully. I ask the Leader to invite the Minister to attend and ask him to specifically address the issue.

Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail)
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I concur with the concerns expressed by Senator Rónán Mullen. I am also concerned that the Sinn Féin Party decided to make a petition of concern. I spoke to its leader and other MLA members of Sinn Féin to avert it happening. The petition is a misuse of a good provision that was included in the agreements. The petition of concern was included in order that no community could find itself totally out-voted by another. This is not such an issue because it transcends politics and parties. I regret that it has happened but accept that it is democracy. I also accept that the party is entitled to adopt whatever position it wishes. I urge people here who may not be as familiar with some of the activities of the Marie Stopes Clinics to talk to people, even those on the pro-choice side, who are critical of Marie Stopes and have serious misgivings about some of its modus operandi.

I ask the Leader to arrange for the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government to come to the House. I appreciate, and I have always acknowledged here, that we are going through a difficult fiscal and economic situation and that the Government must make unpopular decisions. When Fianna Fáil was in power it made unpopular decisions by cutting public service pay and social welfare to spread the burden across all of society.

I am highly critical of what is happening now. I want the Minister to come here to discuss the housing grants for the disabled and the elderly. My county council has been almost cut in half and I am sure that the same has occurred in other areas. Many constituents have made representations to me for housing grants. Some of the people are elderly and live in homes that need repairs which they cannot afford and the same applies to the disabled. In one instance, a father and son cannot access a stairway to their bedrooms and only use their livingroom. Such people will be deprived of essential grants.

Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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The Senator can make his points during the debate.

Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail)
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I encourage the Leader to arrange the debate. The cuts are a false economy. The cost of retaining people in their homes is a fraction of the cost of being taken into the care of the HSE. I appeal for the Minister to reverse his decisions. Savings are about options and choices but the choices being made by the Government are far from sensible.

Catherine Noone (Fine Gael)
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Today, we have seen another case of alleged cyberbullying, with 28 students being suspended from their school as a result of this alleged activity. This sends a strong message to students, parents and society at large about the seriousness of some of these issues.

Last week, I delivered a speech to the European economic and social committee in Brussels in which I proposed the idea that empowerment through education is a more effective tool than centralised policing. In this regard, we can get too carried away and point the finger too much at the various social media networks.

In the story to which I referred, 28 young lives, plus the life of a teacher, were impacted upon and have been needlessly interrupted. There are two main problems, as I see it. One is a societal problem of how we will deal with bullying and how we can stand up to bullies - and that is not just on the Internet. The second is a technological problem of how we can employ methods to tackle online bullies. As regards both these problems, I believe that empowerment through education could have a beneficial role. It would empower young people to break from the herd, click the report button and have the content removed, thus ensuring that the juvenile actions of one person do not spoil the lives of many others.

Unfortunately, bullying has always occurred and cyberbullying is just another form of it. The issue of eradicating bullying remains as difficult as ever and new technology merely provides another dynamic. The bully is no longer the obvious boy or girl in the classroom because social networking facilitates any individual in the privacy of his or her own home to partake in bullying that is much more difficult to police. We need to empower and educate young people to work online without fear of the same negative behaviour that we can all encounter in ordinary life.

On previous occasions, the Leader has been asked to facilitate a debate on this matter. We could usefully have one in the near future.

Feargal Quinn (Independent)
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Can the Leader find time for a debate on public procurement? When the EU directive on public procurement came through it seemed sensible that we should accept it wholeheartedly, but the effect it is having on a large number of smaller Irish businesses is huge. Can we take a balance into account when we automatically accept EU directives? There is a need to do something in this regard. I met a group of business people here the other day whose businesses are likely to go just because of one decision. It may well be that the State and taxpayers benefit from having an EU directive on public procurement which says that we must buy the cheapest or best no matter where. However, if such a directive affects so many jobs in so many areas, we should re-examine the matter.

One of the proposals that is being made on the contents of beverages concerns some sort of limit on the sugar content of soft drinks. This concerns measures to control obesity. Two days ago, the New York Supreme Court found that a ban that Mayor Bloomberg had put into operation to ban the sale of jumbo soft drinks, was illegal. Consequently, the city was unable to enforce it. That decision may mean that the indoor smoking ban in New York is also illegal. I am mentioning this matter because we have been so competent and capable here in taking steps to ban smoking, and I would hate to find that such measures cannot be enforced in future.

I wish to add a few words in memory of two people who died in recent days. One was Mr. Enda Marren who was on the national executive of Fine Gael for many years. He was never a Member of this House but he certainly played a large part in this country's public affairs and the benefits accruing therefrom.

Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael)
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Absolutely.

Feargal Quinn (Independent)
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The other person who died recently was Dr. John O'Connell who was not a Member of this House but of the Lower House, and of various political parties.

David Norris (Independent)
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He certainly was a Member of this House. I served with him here.

Feargal Quinn (Independent)
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Was he? I did not realise that. Up to recently, Dr. O'Connell was still coming in to Leinster House every Tuesday with the former Deputy, Ben Briscoe. As Dr. O'Connell was a former Member of this House, we will have a chance to talk about him at a later stage.

Martin Conway (Fine Gael)
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As St. Patrick's Day approaches, I commend all involved in promoting and encouraging people to visit this country and city, as well as commending our colleague, Senator Eamonn Coghlan, on organising a 5K race in the city this weekend. However, I am most disturbed about the price of hotel rooms in this city for the weekend, for which "Rip-off Republic" has returned in its glory. Hotel rooms not a stone's throw from this Chamber have increased their prices six and sevenfold and over the coming weekend, a hotel room one would get for ¤50 under normal circumstances will cost ¤350 a night. Some hotel rooms in this city will cost ¤600 and ¤700 per night over the St. Patrick's weekend. This is a disgrace given all the work being done to promote tourism in this country and to encourage people to return here because one will now get value for money in a new economic climate. Unfortunately, however, the greed has returned and in advance of the bank holiday weekend, I appeal to those hotels that have increased their room rates by six and sevenfold to cop onto themselves, realise they are doing enormous damage to the credibility of this city and country and bring back rates to a more realistic level. No one objects to paying a certain premium at peak times but people certainly object to being ripped off. This is undermining both the great work being done by the many organisations promoting this country internationally and the efforts of The Gathering.

Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael)
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Come to Killarney.

Labhrás Ó Murchú (Fianna Fail)
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For as long as I have been a Member of the Seanad, this House has encouraged cross-Border interaction, debate and co-operation. This is happening on an issue currently and the fact it is about the right to life rather than economics, political structures or tourism should not be the cause for anger and alarm. I am delighted to have travelled to Stormont to meet political figures up there to discuss that very issue. Were the DUP to come down here, Members should feel happy about that. I remember a time when no member of the DUP would cross the Border and come down to the Republic.

Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael)
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Correct.

Labhrás Ó Murchú (Fianna Fail)
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Certainly, they would not enter Leinster House under any circumstances. I would not like the message to go back to them that simply because they came down here to discuss the right to life, in one of our Houses of Parliament, Members took the opportunity to in some way misrepresent that visit. Were Members to so do, it would have an impact on future relationships as well.

I am very disappointed with Sinn Féin. I have always have been quite outspoken in this Chamber to make sure its members got their rights both within this House and within the political structures. I also praised Sinn Féin for its work on the Good Friday agreement. I am disappointed with Sinn Féin that it would activate the petition of concern because if one understands the system as it operates in the North, this amounts to a veto. In a way, it is sad this happened. Moreover, it may even be misrepresenting Sinn Féin's own position but the difficulty is that with the party operating on both sides of the Border, it possibly has different approaches to different issues.

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein)
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No, we do not. We take a consistent approach.

Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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Senator Ó Murchú, without interruption. Does the Senator have a question for the Leader?

Labhrás Ó Murchú (Fianna Fail)
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On this occasion, as there was cross-party support for what was happening in the North, I would have much preferred had Sinn Féin allowed it to stand. While it is their prerogative and constitutional right, Members should not discourage in the future such cross-Border co-operation, interaction and dialogue and moreover, no message should go out from this House to that effect.

David Norris (Independent)
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On a point of order, I think I have been accused of misrepresenting matters. The record should show I have misrepresented nothing at all and if there is a question of a cause of anger and alarm-----

Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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No, the record of the House will speak for itself.

David Norris (Independent)
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----- I made a point of welcoming the visitors. As Senator Ó Murchú knows quite well, as does Senator Coghlan, who I am sure will tell the truth about all this, I made them welcome and said it was a very positive thing.

Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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Senator, the record of the House can speak for itself.

David Norris (Independent)
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However, I cannot restrain my sense of humour at the utter hypocrisy-----

Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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I call Senator Brennan, please. The Senator is completely out of order and should resume his seat please.

David Norris (Independent)
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-----of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael on the Northern gerrymandering of the DUP. They are well met.

Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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The Senator already has contributed. I call Senator Brennan.

Terry Brennan (Fine Gael)
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I will open my remarks by noting it is a terrible pity that other Members and I witness such bad manners in this Chamber every day. There are interruptions and the Cathaoirleach or the Acting Chairmen, whoever they may be, are not listened to.

That is all I have to say. I was not a Member of the previous Seanad. Perhaps the Leader would confirm for me once and for all in this House that the previous Government agreement with the troika included the introduction of a property tax.

Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael)
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Absolutely.

Terry Brennan (Fine Gael)
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On several occasions in this House I have heard hypocrisy from many of my colleagues on the left. Will the Leader confirm to me that the introduction of the universal social charge and the abolition of the-----

Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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Does Senator Brennan have a question for the Leader?

Terry Brennan (Fine Gael)
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I have indeed. I have asked for confirmation on the abolition of the Christmas bonus and cuts to the blind and disabled pensions. Could the Leader please confirm whether they were introduced by the previous Government? There are many other issues but I will not raise them.

I agree with what my colleague, Senator Conway, said. It is an absolute shame and cannot be justified that hotels in this city, or in any other city in the country, are able to increase the price of hotel accommodation by as much as 500% and 600%, as outlined by Senator Conway. It is total and utter robbery in this the year of The Gathering and will do enormous damage to the tourism industry for the benefit of a few over a specific weekend. It cannot, must not and will not be justified.

Diarmuid Wilson (Fianna Fail)
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I will be brief because I know the time is up. I have the height of respect for Senator Brennan and his comments.

Terry Brennan (Fine Gael)
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It is not my style either. Senator Wilson knows that.

Diarmuid Wilson (Fianna Fail)
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Absolutely, Senator Brennan.

Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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Please, Senator.

Diarmuid Wilson (Fianna Fail)
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It is not my style either. On the confirmation about the property tax and whether the previous Government signed off on it, it is my understanding that it did sign off in principle-----

Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael)
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Senator Wilson is an honest man.

Terry Brennan (Fine Gael)
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Fair play to you.

Diarmuid Wilson (Fianna Fail)
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-----on a property tax. However, as a result of that, 53 of our colleagues are sitting at home today rather than sitting in the other House.

Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail)
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It is 58.

Diarmuid Wilson (Fianna Fail)
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Since the tax was agreed in principle with the troika by the previous Government people have got into severe difficulties with mortgage arrears. Our party now believes that this is not the right time to bring in a property tax.

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein)
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Fianna Fáil is still in favour of it.

Diarmuid Wilson (Fianna Fail)
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That is my understanding of the situation in layman?s terms.

Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)
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Very well put.

Diarmuid Wilson (Fianna Fail)
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I agree with Senators Conway and Brennan about hotels and other places providing accommodation increasing their rates dramatically. As Senator Conway said, in some cases it is by six or seven times the rate because we are coming up to the bank holiday weekend. I pay tribute to them for raising this matter concerning what is happening not only in this city, but in the towns around the country that are putting together events for The Gathering. The cost of accommodation is increasing dramatically and that is wrong. It is undoing the good work communities have done on a voluntary basis-----

Members:

Hear, hear.

Diarmuid Wilson (Fianna Fail)
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-----to try to encourage people to come to this country this year in particular for The Gathering.

Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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I wish to be associated with the expression of sympathy to John O?Connell, a former Member of this House and former Ceann Comhairle, and to Enda Marren, a former member of the Council of State. The protocol is that the House will be afforded an opportunity to have expressions of sympathy later, after an appropriate length of time following a proposal of the Leader. I now call the Leader to reply.

Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)
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Senator Leyden, the acting leader of the Opposition this afternoon, raised a number of parochial items relating to Roscommon. I remind him that, as he well knows, the hours of opening of the Garda headquarters is a matter for the Garda Commissioner. He also inquired about the agricultural offices in Roscommon.

I will inquire of the Minister but if the Senator put that down as an Adjournment matter, he would get the exact answer he is seeking.

Senator Bacik asked about Guthrie cards, which have been mentioned on the Order of Business on several occasions. I agree there is a need for the HSE to inform parents of their rights. I will bring the matter to the attention of the Minister and will try to secure more information for parents and the public.

Senator Mullen called for a debate on surrogacy and the recent court case. The judgment is ground-breaking and the wisest counsel at this stage is to study it carefully and reflect on its implications. The Minister for Justice and Equality is preparing a new Bill that will address certain aspects of the law on surrogacy and hopes to publish the family relationships and children Bill later this year.

Senator Mullins raised the comments made by Ms Louise Phelan, the CEO of PayPal, about the attitude of some of our young people. We will have a debate on the jobs action plan in the near future and he can address those remarks to the Minister then.

Senator O'Donovan asked about the cable car to Dursey Island. Fewer than ten people live on the island but the cable car is of paramount importance for those people. The Senator mentioned to me that he would table this as an Adjournment matter if we did not get a proper reply from the Minister so I will ask the Minister to take that matter if we cannot elicit sufficient information.

Senator Moran raised the conditions in the children's hospital, particularly the lack of space and facilities for both children and parents. The Minister and everyone else would agree there is a need to maintain good standards in all children's hospitals until the new children's hospital is built. I will relay her comments to the Minister.

Senator Barrett asked about the CAO and said it is an equitable system. We should have a debate on it soon so we can discuss the recent proposals with the Minister.

Senator Paul Coghlan raised the property tax, and a number of other questions were asked about it. Fianna Fáil is cynically hypocritical on this issue. Its deceitful approach to the property tax is that when in government, before the arrival of the troika, in its national recovery plan, published in November 2010, it planned to introduce a property tax in 2012 and to raise ¤530 million from it in 2013.

Diarmuid Wilson (Fianna Fail)
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That was only a draft.

Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail)
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What does the Fine Gael manifesto say?

Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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Can we have the Leader without interruption?

Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail)
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Is that the Leader's only defence?

Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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We must have the Leader without interruption or I will have to adjourn the sitting.

Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail)
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I am not talking about the previous Government. I am talking about a failure to hold the current Government to account. Let us look at the Fine Gael manifesto. What does it say?

Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael)
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The Senator had his turn on stage.

Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail)
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Put the people first. Put the banks first, that is what the Secretary General said. He said it with the backing of the current Government. The poor people.

John Gilroy (Labour)
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They are poor because of 14 years of Fianna Fáil.

Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)
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Later in 2010, Fianna Fáil, in its negotiations with the IMF, which it did not tell anyone about, agreed to the introduction of a property tax before the end of 2011 and to increase it by 2012. Now, however, the party claims it is not the time to introduce a property tax.

The Senator's party would have introduced it in 2010 or 2011.

Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail)
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The Taoiseach stated the Government would deal with the mortgage crisis.

Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)
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The Senator's comments are hypocritical but that is nothing new-----

Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail)
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We put forward legislation and the Government side voted against it.

Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)
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-----to Fianna Fáil, as we all know. Thankfully, the electorate also knew about Fianna Fáil's hypocrisy at the previous election.

As regards Sinn Féin's position on the property tax, as I noted last week, Sinn Féin is opposing the introduction of a fair and progressive property tax.

David Norris (Independent)
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The Leader is losing it.

Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)
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It does not seem to have any problem with a property tax in Northern Ireland where the average household pays £1,000 in domestic rates.

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein)
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What about the services householders receive in return?

Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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Please allow the Leader to continue without interruption.

Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)
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How do people pay their rates? Do they have a means of avoiding paying £1,000?

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein)
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What services do people in the North get in return and what do people here get for the property tax?

Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)
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On that issue and the issue raised by Senators Mullen and Ó Murchú, Sinn Féin has one policy in Northern Ireland and another policy down here.

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein)
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On a point of order, the Leader is misrepresenting the policy of my party. We have a consistent policy in the North and South. The Leader should read our policy documents.

Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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That is not a point of order. Senator Ó Clochartaigh should resume his seat.

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein)
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Perhaps the Leader will invite the First Minister to the House.

David Norris (Independent)
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I took a position on both these matters but the Leader left me out.

Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)
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Senator Harte referred to Student Universal Support Ireland. A number of mistakes have been made in this regard and I hope they will be rectified before next year.

Senator MacSharry raised the issue of mortgage arrears. As I outlined, the Government has taken a number of steps on this issue, including the enactment of the Personal Insolvency Act. The Senator referred to trust in the banks. This Government has much less trust in the banks than its Fianna Fáil-led predecessor which handed over to the banks everything in the country in 2010.

Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail)
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That should cover the mortgage arrears crisis.

Colm Burke (Fine Gael)
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On the matter raised by Senator Colm Burke, as I indicated, the Minister for Justice and Equality will publish a family relationships and children's Bill later this year. Senator Norris spoke of calm, serious and respectful debate. It is a pity we do not often have that type of debate in the House, especially on the Order of Business.

David Norris (Independent)
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I was quoting Senator Mullen.

Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)
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That is correct and I note the points made by both Senators in that regard.

Senator Hayden called for the Minister for Finance, Deputy Michael Noonan, to come before the House for a debate on mortgage arrears and debt. The Minister has debated the issue with us previously and I am sure he will discuss it with us again, especially with regard to buy-to-let mortgages. The Minister of State with responsibility for housing, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, also came to the House recently for a debate on housing. I will try to arrange to have the Minister for Finance come before us to address the issue the Senator raises.

Senator Walsh called for the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Phil Hogan, to come to the House to discuss housing aid for the elderly. I note the points the Senator made in that regard. The Minister will be in the House in a matter of minutes.

Senator Noone raised cyberbullying, another issue on which the House has had several debates. I note the point she made regarding 28 students who were suspended from a school recently. I heard the principal of the school in question interviewed on radio this morning. He spoke in a calm, reasonable and respectful manner and his contribution made a great deal of sense. I concur with the Senator that empowerment through education is the way forward on this issue.

Senator Quinn raised the EU directive on public procurement. I am aware that this directive is presenting difficulties for some small businesses and several owners of small companies have approached me about the issue. We should try to have the Minister of State with responsibility for public procurement, Deputy Brian Hayes, before the House for a discussion of the issue.

I also note Senator Quinn's comments on the problems being experienced in New York in enforcing legislation on alcohol. I join the Senator and Cathaoirleach in expressing sympathy to the families of Enda Marren and the former Ceann Comhairle, John O'Connell.

Senators Conway, Brennan and Wilson referred to hotel prices and the fact that many hotels are increasing prices six and seven-fold. This year, the year of The Gathering, I join those Members in saying it is an absolute disgrace for hotels to be putting up prices by that amount. We all agree that where there is volume, hotels must increase their charges, but not to the extent in question. The hotels responsible should rethink what they are doing because their charging of exorbitant prices will do the country irreparable damage, especially in the year of The Gathering, in which we are hoping to promote tourism and attract tourists to the country.

Senator Ó Murchú expressed disappointment with Sinn Féin on its decision to activate a petition of concern in Northern Ireland. This matter was also raised by Senator Mullen.

I have answered Senator Brennan's questions on property tax, the universal social charge, the children's allowance and cuts to the benefits for the blind and disabled. Everybody realises that the previous Government initiated cuts in these areas.