Will the Leader invite the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government to the House to address the issue of planning enforcement? I raise this because there is a report in the national newspapers today on a case in County Wicklow involving an unauthorised development beside the N11. It has been unauthorised for many [...]

I wish to raise the issue of data protection, specifically the advanced leaking of the report of the Data Protection Commissioner.  I have raised previously in the House the issue of data protection.  

It was only some weeks ago when we heard that personal and confidential details of bank customers went missing.  The laptops on [...]

As with other speakers, I record my concern about the humanitarian crisis in Burma. I agree with Senator David Norris who mentioned climate change and the fact that cyclones which have killed more than 22,000 people to date are clearly linked to the phenomenon of global warming. It is likely we will see such humanitarian [...]

I ask that the incoming Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food be invited to address the House on the important issue of agriculture. I make this request in light of a recent report which was sponsored by the United Nations, had the backing of the World Bank and was part funded by a number of [...]

I support the call by other Senators for an urgent debate on the report of the alcohol advisory group given the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform has announced his intention to bring legislation on alcohol misuse before the Houses of the Oireachtas and to have it enacted by the summer. We need to [...]

I welcome the fact that the outgoing Taoiseach, Deputy Bertie Ahern, will address the House tomorrow on the issue of the Lisbon treaty.  We frequently have debates here about the relevance of the Seanad and we question how we can get the media to take more seriously the business of the House.  I suggest that [...]

Will the Leader raise with the Minister for Health and Children the audit of stroke care services commissioned by the Irish Heart Foundation, the results of which have been published and reported on in this morning’s newspapers?  The findings are very worrying.  There are between 350 and 500 deaths each year due to strokes.  Some [...]

I congratulate Deputy Brian Cowen on his election as leader designate of the Fianna Fáil Party and wish him luck in his new role.  By taking up this new role, it will mean he will appoint a new Minister for Finance.  When the new Minister for Finance is appointed, will the Leader invite that person [...]

I see in this morning’s newspapers that the regulator for the pharmacy sector is considering ways of expanding the services provided by the pharmacy sector to include important primary care services such as screening for diabetes and other common disorders, managing long-term stable conditions and delaing with minor ailments in order that people do not [...]

I ask the Leader to invite the Minister for Foreign Affairs to the House to discuss Ireland’s position on Kosovo’s declaration of independence, because this issue is causing much tension within the EU. The Irish Government has expressed its support for Kosovo’s independence. However, it is a complex because other newly formed states will also [...]