The Order of Business is No. 1, Finance Bill 2014 (Certified Money Bill) - Second Stage, to be taken at 11.45 a.m., with the contributions of group spokespersons not to exceed eight minutes and those of all other Senators not to exceed five minutes.
Order of Business
The opinion poll published in The Irish Times today seems to indicate that the people have lost trust in the Government. That is not surprising when one considers the mounting evidence. The Tánaiste has been critical of her partners in government about Fine Gael's attempts to relieve the tax burden on the wealthy.
According to Mr. Liam Doran, the hospital trolley situation now represents a dangerous crisis. The number of patients on trolleys has doubled in recent years. In 2006 a national emergency was declared on the issue. We have the ongoing sad and tragic homeless issue. The Government has been very tardy in attempting to address and relieve the homelessness crisis. We in Fianna Fáil have consistently pressed our concerns to highlight the failings of the Government to take real action in meeting its pledge for homelessness by 2016. The tragic death earlier this week is a sharp reminder of the immediacy of the problem and the scale of the challenge. I hope the Leader will convey this message to the Taoiseach and the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government. Why has there not been a meeting of county managers following debates that took place in this House with the then Minister of State with responsibility for housing, the Minister, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, in which it was made perfectly clear that a significant number of boarded-up houses could be refurbished and for which at least some of those local authorities have funding? As was pointed out in that debate and admitted by the then Minister of State, there is a bureaucratic delay. It is incumbent on the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government to call the county managers together. I cannot understand why he has not done this up to now.
The Government could immediately announce that it was increasing rent supplement. I am not interested in hearing counterarguments as to what might happen in the housing market if that were done. All the housing organisations, including the Simon community, have called on the Government to increase rent supplement. This is a real crisis, but it can be resolved with goodwill. I am not surprised that the opinion polls reflect the voters' distrust the Government, when they see something as immediate and resolvable as the housing crisis in a sense being kicked to one side. I appreciate that today's forum has been established to discuss the matter. I hope the Government will act in this regard. We will continue to press it to ensure it makes moves to resolve the crisis. These are immediate proposals I have made and I would be grateful for the Leader's response.
I am sure I speak for all Members of the House when, on behalf of our group, I again convey our deepest sympathy to Seán Rowlette and his family from County Sligo on the death of his wife Sally. The jury at the inquest yesterday returned a result of medical misadventure. It raised very serious questions about what is going on in the health service, particularly in Sligo General Hospital where it has now been acknowledged there is a shortage of permanent consultants. In fact one of the consultants involved in that tragic case left the hospital two weeks after the sad event of Sally Rowlette's death. I again ask for the Minister for Health to come to the House to explain the continuing crisis in the appointment of permanent consultants. Many of them seem to be on temporary or short-term contracts which, while they have not directly resulted in it, certainly have contributed to the tragic and, as it turned out, unnecessary death of this woman. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a hanam.
I also express my sympathy to the family of Sally Rowlette. Anyone following the progress of the inquest will have been horrified to hear of the medical misadventure that led to her unnecessary and tragic death. I absolutely agree that it raises serious issues about staffing, particularly in Sligo General Hospital at the time. I am sure all colleagues wish to express sympathy to the family of Sally Rowlette, her husband and children in particular.
I am conscious we had a full debate on homelessness last night. We all wish the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Alan Kelly, and all the participants in today's forum on homelessness well. We all hope to see some initiatives coming from the forum, given that it is bringing together all relevant stakeholders across the four Dublin local authorities and the NGO sector. I referred yesterday to the housing association that had more than 90 units ready to open. A colleague pointed out that it calls itself a Catholic association but, in fact, Archbishop Martin had some difficulty when he sought to intervene. I should have said I believe Archbishop Martin announced the opening of 30 beds in a shelter this week. It is to be hoped this sort of initiative will make an impact, especially on the sleeping rough figures that are so serious and of such concern in the light of the very tragic death of Jonathan Corrie. This issue is not just about resources, but resources are important. As Senator John Gilroy pointed out yesterday and as Councillor Dermot Lacey pointed out previously, votes were taken on Dublin City Council where the Labour Party and the Green Party groups sought to increase the budget for homelessness through ensuring resources would continue to come through at the same level from the property tax. Of course, that was opposed by other groups on the council, including Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin. Those groups sought to make reductions in property tax rather than have extra resources available for homeless services. We need to be careful and circumspect when we are talking about resourcing. We should remember that parties that are loudly critical of failures of Government policies on homelessness have been talking a very different language at council level where it really matters in terms of targeting resources.
The Government should scrap the property tax.
I thank the Leader for yesterday's debate on job creation with the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Richard Bruton. That debate was extremely timely, coming as it did on a day when the live register figure for unemployment dropped to 10.7%, which although still too high reflects 36 consecutive months of decrease in the live register. As the Minister pointed out, more than 144,000 people have left the live register to take up jobs in the past 12 months, which is extremely encouraging news. It was also a day when Calypso Technology, the US financial services technology company, announced 150 jobs. We are seeing the good news on jobs announcements at this stage passing almost unremarked every day in the media. When I watched the news last night, that announcement was right down on the running order even though it is very important and is driving economic recovery. I ask the Leader that we would have regular debates on job creation and employment measures. As the Minister said yesterday, this is not just happening in some automatic fashion but is driven by policies. Job creation and the reduction in unemployment are driven by policies, particularly the Action Plan for Jobs, measures in successive budgets to ensure that tax measures do not work against job creation and, of course, the Pathways to Work initiative of the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Joan Burton, which has had a major impact in reducing long-term unemployment. Some of the more encouraging figures look at reductions in long-term unemployment from yesterday. I urge colleagues from both sides at least to join in welcoming encouraging news in job creation and drops in unemployment figures. I ask the Leader that we might have this debate regularly to highlight this very important development in the economy.
I agree entirely with Senator Ivana Bacik. Yesterday's debate on the Action Plan for Jobs was very useful and it covered a very wide area. We used up all the time and had to squeeze in the final speakers.
Another document was published yesterday by the National Competitiveness Council. It contains a considerable amount. It describes what we can do to create jobs, help the economy and ensure we stay where we are in competitiveness. It called on the Government to publish the Attorney General's most recent view on upward-only rent reviews. The issue of upward-only rent reviews is of the utmost importance. We debated and passed a Bill in this House. It has not gone to the other House yet. We believe it is essential if we are to create and maintain jobs. There is another newspaper report today of a Dublin jeweller forced to close because of the outrageous rent he has to pay. When the Government came into office, Fine Gael and the Labour Party had both promised to remove upward-only rent reviews. Their programme for Government reiterated this, but then they backed down claiming they had got advice that it was not the right thing to do. The debate we had last year was well worthwhile and worthy of consideration and now the National Competitiveness Council holds the same view. Let us ensure the Government listens to and acts on it.
I was leading the debate for Fine Gael on homelessness yesterday. It was a very positive debate and I do not think anybody sought to make a political football out of it. It is a serious issue and one that we will evaluate and re-evaluate in terms of what is happening. It is ironic that in the week when the Government announced its Construction 2020 strategy, including funding of €3.8 billion for housing and the homeless, this poor man died on the street. We all sympathised yesterday with his family. Initiatives were and are being taken in this regard. It is a question of co-ordination and having all the elements working together.
This is the tenth day of the 16 days of action on violence against women and children organised by ChildFund Ireland. Like homelessness, this matter must be kept on the agenda because it affects people not only in Ireland but also elsewhere around the world. It is estimated that 150 million girls and 73 million boys worldwide are subjected to violence, including rape. ChildFund Ireland is urging every one of us to use our voices during these 16 days. Let us all speak loudly and clearly about what we as parliamentarians can do to free women and children from violence. There are some adult male victims as well, but it is mostly women and children. We must use our voices to highlight the problem. I hope Deputy Mary Lou McDonald will use her voice in the Lower House to name people who have abused children sexually, the names that are handed in to Deputy Gerry Adams.
Does the Senator have a question?
I am asking a question of the Leader. I am asking Deputy Mary Lou McDonald to use her parliamentary privilege in the other House to name people whose names are on that list. If she is going to name people with Ansbacher accounts who have been investigated by the Revenue Commissioners, An Garda Síochána and the Moriarty tribunal, the least she might do is stand up and name the people who have perpetrated crimes against children.
What about Deputy Regina Doherty? Should she not name the people in question?
As well as that, Deputy Mary Lou McDonald should name the people whose bodies are buried in the bogs. Many families are suffering through it.
The Senator is way over time.
Parliamentary privilege should not be abused. It should be used to try to help people.
It was a great pleasure to attend an Oireachtas cross-party meeting this morning organised by the Irish Cancer Society and Alcohol Action Ireland. Last Friday evening, I held a public forum on threats to women's health. It was addressed by Ms Suzanne Costello, the chief executive of Alcohol Action Ireland, and the rock star of oncology, Senator John Crown. Both of them were adamant about the serious effects of alcohol on women's health. I have two key points for the Leader. On Friday and again this morning, Ms Costello spoke about huge increases in the past 50 years in the number of women drinking in Ireland. We all know about this. In my time, it was taboo for women to go into a pub and drink. They could smoke all they liked, but a woman did not drink in a pub.
Unfortunately.
That taboo has, however, faded away. Alcohol marketing campaigns are now focused on women, particularly on young women to make them look sexy. Ms Costello said that younger women tend to drink spirits rather than beer, leading to them to drink more units of alcohol on average than men of the same age. That is very serious.
The other key point and the bottom line at the meeting was the association between alcohol and breast cancer, which is really not on the radar. Drinking one standard alcoholic drink a day is associated with a 9% increase in the risk of a woman developing breast cancer, while drinking three to six standard drinks per day increases the risk by 41%. There is a national emergency; therefore, the message must be got out about how dangerous drinking is for women, particularly concerning breast cancer.
Will the Leader organise a debate with the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Alex White, on the future of the post office network? On the one hand, we hear from the Minister that it is not Government policy to close post offices. On the other hand, however, An Post is taking every opportunity to close individual offices. A case in point is Cappataggle post office in County Galway which is scheduled to close on 31 December following the death of the postmistress, Mrs. Christina Dooley, earlier this year. Her family wishes to continue running the post office and providing the excellent service that has been offered to the community. I tried to obtain reasons for the closure from An Post and details of the cost involved in keeping the post office open, but it is as difficult as getting details on the third secret of Fatima. I believe the savings to An Post will be minimal, given that a postmistress's income is transaction related. The local community has requested a deferral of the closure date to allow further discussions on the possibility of putting a strategic plan in place to grow the business. I appeal to An Post to reverse its decision not to grant that deferral. The post office at the heart of the community in Cappataggle has the support of young and old alike. In the run-up to Christmas, I appeal for extra time to be afforded to community leaders there to work with An Post to see if it is viable to continue operating the post office in Cappataggle. I firmly believe it is viable.
Ba mhaith liom mo chomhbhrón a dhéanamh le clann agus le muintir Sally Rowlette as a bás. Sílim go bhfuil sé tábhachtach, agus Saolta ag seoladh na tuairisce i dtaobh cás Savita Halappanavar inniu, go mbeadh díospóireacht againn maidir le cúrsaí máithreachais.
I extend my condolences to the family of friends of Sally Rowlette. As the report into the case of Savita Halappanavar is to be launched in Galway at 5 p.m. today, it would be timely for us to have a debate on maternity services.
I agree it is important for us to highlight the 16 days of action opposing violence against women in the context of domestic violence in our country and the responses to it. We have already called for a debate on that matter. Domestic Violence Response, DVR, is an advocacy telephone support service in Galway that gives one-to-one information to women and children. I note, however, that its funding is wholly inadequate to meet its needs. Last year, 500 calls for their helpline were missed. An average of more than 50 calls per month were missed this year because there are insufficient staff in the office to respond when such calls come in. The women describe the service as a lifeline that has kept them alive. It is unacceptable to provide minuscule amounts of funding to address domestic violence. Some €75,000 was provided to the DVR service in 2014, but women and children in Galway deserve better than this.
The latest national statistics from SAFE Ireland show that more than 3,424 children received support from domestic violence services in 2013. They included 2,699 children who lived in a refuge and 140 children who lived in transitional housing. In total, 2,787 children were admitted to refuges in 2013. Some 1,074 children were less than four years old, including 231 children who were one year or younger, while 149 children were aged between 15 and 18.
No more than the housing crisis and other crises we have seen, do we have to wait for a tragedy to happen before we focus on this issue? We have called for this debate previously. It is imperative because current funding is insufficient to cater for those who badly need those services. Sadly, this issue becomes the focus of attention again around Christmas; therefore, I urge the Leader to arrange a debate on domestic violence as soon as possible.
Senator Mary White provided some good facts and statistics. The reality, however, is that the Government is allowing low-cost selling of alcohol in supermarkets. That has had the effect of putting terrible pressure on the licensed trade, including bar owners, although I do not want to cite any vested interests.
I hope the Dáil Bar is doing well, though.
Sunday newspapers are practically exclusively carrying advertisements for Tesco, SuperValu, Dunnes Stores, Aldi and Lidl. Last Sunday, they were advertising 25% off three litres of alcohol - gin, vodka and whiskey. People were urged to buy it fast in the store or get it delivered. Supermarkets are selling alcohol at a lower cost than publicans can buy it from wholesalers.
That is a fact, which I can prove conclusively. Supermarkets are selling alcohol below cost to attract customers. More alcohol is being consumed but a larger percentage of young people are drinking at home, yet the publicans who run a good business and try to ensure their customers drink proportionately are being victimised in this regard. It has led to the closure of pubs throughout the country and this will continue next year unless the Government introduces a Bill to outlaw the below cost selling of alcohol. All people are looking for is a level playing pitch. It is attracting the abuse that Senator Mary White so eloquently outlined. The responsibility for this lies with the four people running the country - the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and the Ministers for Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform. They are the leaders of the country. There is no Cabinet responsibility anymore because it is not consulted. The remaining Ministers are cabbages. Will the Leader ask the Minister for Finance to come to the House to explain why he cannot bring in legislation to ban below cost selling of alcohol? I will leave all the other products out of the debate because there is a vast range but alcohol is a risky substance.
Action is not being taken on petrol stretching but large legitimate garages have put up signs saying truthful, honest quality petrol and diesel is sold on their premises, as I suggested. Where is the imagination in the Government regarding marked fuel? This is a sophisticated society in the context of tax rebates.
The Senator is way over time. He is taking as much time as a group leader.
This is important.
I understand that.
The Leader and I experienced a nice evening out last night.
I have to call time on the Senator.
There is no imagination from the Government. I call on the Minister for Finance to come to the House to discuss the details of what I put forward.
He will be in the House later.
I wish to raise three issues. We had a wonderful debate yesterday evening on homelessness. As a result of my former colleagues, the teachers of this country, being forced to take to the streets on a one-day strike, the Government has saved €5 million in salary payments. My colleagues feel well justified in their strike action but they would be happy to see the money saved diverted to the homeless. Will the Leader convey this to the Taoiseach and relevant Ministers? There is no reason the money saved by the Exchequer as a result of the strike should not be given over. A person could buy a block or two of apartments off NAMA for that amount and house quite a number of people.
The issue of rent controls came up during the debate and I am not convinced by the Minister's reply. He said a committee would examine this issue. By the time the committee has finished, the Government will have fallen and another Government will have been elected, even if the election takes place in 2016.
I do not wish to draw attention to a Member of this or the Lower House but privilege should not be taken lightly and should not be used by anybody. I have witnessed privilege being used twice since I was elected, once in this House and once in the Lower House. Perhaps privilege has been used much more. I have also witnessed it as a citizen. It is wrong to use privilege in a frivolous way. If we are to use it, it must be in exceptional circumstances. Will the Leader schedule a debate on this? The function of the Seanad in this regard should be similar to that of an overseeing parent or a patriarchal or matriarchal figure. Perhaps something would come out of it. I appreciate the deputy leader of Sinn Féin is in the newspapers today, but I do not refer to her specifically. I ask that a debate takes place on privilege.
She is not here to defend herself.
I appreciate that.
I am delighted there was a such a useful debate last night on homelessness and I commend Senator Gerard P. Craughwell for raising the matter. As Senator Ivana Bacik said, the best thing we can all do is wish that constructive proposals will be made that can be put into action arising out of the meeting later in which the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government will be involved. We will keep an eye on the issue and we can revert to it next week, if necessary.
Senator Ivana Bacik also touched on another important matter. Two key elements in our society and economy are jobs and housing and, thankfully, the provision of both is increasing. The number of jobs is increasing at a great rate and the number of people unemployed continues to fall.
There are still 110,000 long-term unemployed.
All the people who have taken up jobs are adding greatly to our economic recovery. I acknowledge we have a long way to go, but we are going in the right direction and I welcome very much the initiatives on housing by the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government.
A total of 800 children are homeless.
Senator Paul Coghlan to continue, without interruption.
That will mean more construction jobs and so on, which will aid the economic recovery further. We have to be patient for a little while.
My good friend, Senator Paschal Mooney, referred to an opinion poll today. He should remember these polls, which are published frequently, are merely snapshots on a particular day. He does not know if all the people consulted will even vote in a general election, whenever that is held. As Harold Wilson once famously said, it is about "the Pound in your pocket." In our case, it would be the euro. There is no doubt that the Government's aims on tax and other initiatives will improve the lot of every citizen and that will be appreciated more and more as time passes.
I was present, like others, for the two-hour debate yesterday evening with the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government and his Minister of State. Excellent suggestions were made on all sides of the House. Fianna Fáil proposed that we would raise the issue during the first week of the session in the new year in order that the Minister can update us on what progress has been made on housing those who need emergency accommodation. Other issues were raised during the debate, which will take longer to deal with, for example, the supports that can be offered to people before they find themselves homeless, and they are worth considering. It was an enlightening debate and I welcome the Minister of State's commitment to return to the House during the first week following the Christmas recess to update us on what progress has been made in this regard.
Like Senator Gerard P. Craughwell, I call on the Leader to invite the Minister for Education and Skills to the House. January is fast approaching and teachers intend to strike again if progress is not made on the reform of the junior certificate programme. Will the Leader use his good offices to bring the Minister to the House to ensure we have an open debate on how progress could be made in this regard and to avoid 350,000 students being subjected to another one-day strike in January?
While Cyber Monday, the busiest day of the year for online shopping, has passed, between now and Christmas Irish consumers will spend millions of euro on Internet purchases. While such shopping undoubtedly has its positives, cyber crime rates have climbed steadily in the past few years. According to a business advisory firm, Grant Thornton, cyber crime has cost the Irish economy over €600 million, while research conducted by Irish software firm, S-Net Ireland, in 2013, found that over one in five Irish consumers have lost money through online scams, with 55% of cyber crime in Ireland being the work of international organisations. With new generation criminals now having worldwide reach and operating from afar, it makes these types of crimes harder to prosecute. Consumers should also research sites before buying from them or handing over any personal details. Likewise, consumers should exercise extreme caution when sites or strangers request personal information over the phone, via e-mail or text, even when those doing so purport to be from well-respected institutions, because personal information, once procured, may then be used in identity theft crimes. Given these facts, I was heartened to see the launch last week of a new online safety campaign in the run-up to Christmas being rolled out by the Garda. Just as I call on consumers to be vigilant as they shop online this Christmas, I also call on the reputable retailers to protect to the highest standard the personal data of their customers and to secure their payment facilities against fraud. I also ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Richard Bruton, to consider rolling out a campaign targeting all small independent retailers in the run-up to Christmas to inform them of how such scams operate and how best they can be avoided in order to protect the consumer.
Yesterday was International Day of Persons with Disabilities. Last night, I was delighted and honoured to attend a co-presentation, by Inclusion Ireland and Down Syndrome Ireland, of the Blue Teapot Theatre Company performance of "Sanctuary". This play, which was written by Christian O'Reilly, explores the intimate relationships between persons with intellectual disabilities and highlights a little known law which impacts on the lives of unmarried persons with an intellectual disability and seeks to prevent them from having healthy intimate relationships, a topic which we have raised previously. It refers back to the mental capacity Bill. I call on the Leader to ascertain when this Bill will be before the House and moved on.
In my role as spokesperson for disability, I regularly meet groups and local persons with a disability and I am aware of the issues facing those with a disability in Ireland. I am committed to advocating, in the Seanad and elsewhere, on behalf of those with a disability. We need to continue to strive to create the most inclusive society possible for all citizens regardless of their ability or disability. I look forward to meeting the self-advocacy group from Inclusion Ireland later today to discuss a range of issues and concerns for those with disabilities. I look forward to engaging with this group and working with it in the coming months.
I also mention the fact that tomorrow, Friday, 5 December, at 5 p.m., is the closing date for applications for the scheme for ladies affected by symphysiotomy. However, there is scope for those in exceptional circumstances who wish to make further applications and applications will be received under those circumstances up until 14 January. I urge all those who are interested in claiming to submit their application which is user-friendly and simple to fill in by the closing date.
Senator Paschal Mooney raised a question about an MRBI opinion poll. While we all accept that opinion polls are a snapshot in time, I can assure the Senator that the Government intends to be in office for the next 12 months to work for the people in providing more jobs.
Rightly so - fight your corner.
This was especially evident yesterday when it was announced that the rate of unemployment was down to 10.7%. It is still too high, but it is a massive improvement on the position when we took office when 250,000 jobs had been lost in the previous three years.
Why will they not go to the gallows early?
Some 144,645 persons have left the live register in the past 12 months. Obviously, we are not getting the good news to the people. I can assure Deputy Paschal Mooney, however, that we will emphasise it for the next 12 months and perhaps more.
The Leader could have got a job 2,000 years ago.
(Interruptions).
Crucifixion.
The people will then make a good judgment. Ours is a party that has always accepted the democratic decision of the people.
I am letting my rottweiler loose on the Leader.
I am sure the people will make the right decision at the appropriate time.
They should concentrate on the word "more".
Senator Paschal Mooney also raised a question about boarded up houses. I assure him it is part of the housing strategy. Many are already under reconstruction. It will be a priority under the housing strategy to put them back into use for those who need them.
Why will they not call in the county managers in the counties in which they are not doing the job?
County managers have been so informed and notified. The Internet can be used. One does not need to call them in; one can notify them by e-mail, which has been done. They have been asked for their plans and have been given funding. What more can be done in that regard? The houses are being reconstructed. That is the answer to the question.
They are still falling behind. There would not be a homeless issue if they were building houses.
Senator Ivana Bacik referred to the forum on homelessness. Many Senators have spoken about it and we had an excellent debate in the House last evening on the matter. As Senator Diarmuid Wilson stated, in the new year we should receive an update on the forum which is meeting today. I understand the Minister of State, Deputy Paudie Coffey, has given an undertaking that he will come to the House to provide that update.
Senator Ivana Bacik also called for regular updates on job creation and employment. We had a constructive debate yesterday with the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Richard Bruton, and I assure the Senator that we will have many more in the new term.
Members on this side ruffled his feathers somewhat.
The Leader to continue, without interruption.
Senator Mary White also made a good contribution during that debate. We will arrange for her to make other contributions on job creation and employment, given that the good news will continue in the next 12 months.
Senator Feargal Quinn referred to the excellent report of the National Competitiveness Council. I am not sure whether the Attorney General can publish an opinion, but I note the Senator's points about upward-only rent reviews. It is also mentioned in the report that taxes are too high and that we are uncompetitive in that regard. In the recent budget the Government emphasised that taxes were too high and would come down. Workers will see the benefit of this in their pay packets from January and after the next budget.
Senator Cáit Keane raised the issue of violence against women and children, a matter which was also raised by Senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh who emphasised the need for more funding for support services. In that regard, Senator Cáit Keane mentioned ChildFund Ireland and the need to keep the issue on the agenda. We all agree with her.
The Senator also called on Sinn Féin to use the privilege afforded by the Houses to name the alleged rapists and child abusers sent to this jurisdiction by kangaroo courts in Northern Ireland. I would not advise Members to abuse privilege in any way, a point which was also made by Senator Gerard P. Craughwell.
Senator Mary White mentioned the increase in the number of women drinking alcohol and the association between alcohol and breast cancer. That is something that needs to be highlighted in this House. We published a good public consultation report on cancer over one year ago in which the points made were highlighted by the experts in the area. There is a lack of information for women, in particular, on the abuse of alcohol.
Senator Michael Mullins referred to the future of the post office network and called for a debate on the issue with the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Alex White.
I will certainly seek to arrange it. He highlighted the intransigence of An Post in the case of a specific post office in County Galway. I am sure both he and the community will increase the pressure on An Post to maintain that post office.
Senator Terry Leyden also raised the issue of the below cost selling of alcohol which he did very well as a publican.
I wish to make a correction. I am not a publican; I am a Senator. A publican is the holder of a licence and let us be clear that I do not hold a publican's licence.
The Leader to continue, without interruption, please.
Senator Terry Leyden received very good publicity for owning the Dáil Bar, which I believe is the name of the pub. I am giving him more publicity.
I hope the Leader will be able to visit it during the Christmas season.
The below cost selling of alcohol is a very important issue and we should have the Minister come to the House to discuss it. I believe there is a case in the European Union as it affects the position in Scotland that is holding up legislation in this area. It is an issue that will have to be addressed.
It does not involve looking for a prohibition.
Senator Paul Coghlan raised the issues of housing and job creation, which are vital for economic growth.
Senator Lorraine Higgins raised the issue of cybercrime and referred to the need for consumers to exercise caution, especially at this time of the year. It is wise advice that we should all be very careful when it comes to cybercrime.
Senator Mary Moran referred to people with disabilities, yesterday being International Day of Persons with Disabilities. She mentioned the need to have a more inclusive society and inquired when legislation would be introduced. She also mentioned the closing date for applications under the scheme for ladies affected by symphysiotomy. It is important that all those affected by that barbaric practice receive the necessary compensation and are dealt with sympathetically when making applications. I urge each of them to submit an application immediately.
Order of Business agreed to.
Sitting suspended at 11.25 a.m. and resumed at 11.45 a.m.