On behalf of the Labour group, I wish to be associated with the remarks of sympathy and condolence made by the Leader and the other spokespersons on the death of King Hussein, and to wish well his successor, the young King Abdullah. King Hussein was a wonderful leader in a very turbulent time in a very disturbed area in the Middle East. Throughout that period, he was always a practitioner and protagonist of peace. We should recognise that in the context of what we are trying to do on this island in terms of the British-Irish Agreement and of getting a peaceful solution to our own centuries long controversies and difficulties.
I also wish to be associated with the request for an early debate – ideally tomorrow but, if not, early next week – on Northern Ireland. We have reached a log jam. Dates on which institutions were to have been established have been missed. The establishment of the Executive seems to be in extremely difficult circumstances. Decommissioning, policing and the question of prisoners remain major issues.
We must have a debate because we have responsibilities under the British-Irish Agreement, particularly in relation to cross-Border activities, the Executive and communications. We should be fulfilling our role in that regard, and one way of so doing is for the Leader to organise a substantial debate in this House with the Minister for Foreign Affairs.
I agree with Senator Manning's concerns about the manner in which civil servants and Ministers brief the media on new legislation before they brief parliamentarians. That is unacceptable. Spokespersons should be given proposed legislation first. The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform has already put a new Bill into the public domain, although the spokespersons have not been given copies of it. We have previously heard information from civil servants before it had been put into the parliamentary domain.
Will the Leader arrange a debate on the State banking system? Fine Gael has tabled a Private Members' motion today on the farming community and the disposal of the assets from the sale of ACC. Before we decide how we are going to dispose of the public silver, we should have a debate on whether we are going to dispose of it and what the parameters might be.
We read in today's newspapers that the ICC made a pre-tax profit of 31 per cent, with a very substantial dividend to the State. The future of the ICC, ACC and TSB, which are the State's family silver in the banking sector, and the performance of the major banks – the Bank of Ireland, AIB and National Irish Bank, all of which have clouds over their heads – should be the subject of a major debate in the House.