Order of Business - 10th November 2005

Order of Business – 10th November 2005

Mr. Norris: I support Senator Mooney. We
should have a debate on the Middle East. Up to
70 people may have been tragically killed in
Amman. I have stayed in that hotel, as have many
Irish delegations. Another 35 people were killed
today in Baghdad. It is clear that Bush and Blair
are on the slide. They are responsible for this.
They walked us into it but we must prepare for a
situation when a more intelligent government
may take office in both jurisdictions. I am glad
Blair was defeated in the House of Commons yesterday.
I am glad the American Republican Party
has started to lose governorship races but we
must prepare for a new regime and try to give it
some advice.
An Cathaoirleach: Briefly.
Mr. Norris: I will be as brief as I can, however,
we run to 45 minutes every day. I have a motion
on the Order Paper suggesting we recognise this
fact. It has been opposed by some people
although there is general agreement.
An Cathaoirleach: On the Order of Business.
Ms O’Rourke: That has nothing to do with us.
Mr. Norris: I could not speak more directly on
the Order of Business. This is the tenth anniversary
of the murder by the Nigerian authorities of
Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni activists
who were protesting against the environmental
devastation of the region by Shell Oil. I was a
member of the foreign affairs committee when
Des O’Malley was Chairman, and he was a good
Chairman. When we planned to visit Nigeria the
Nigerian authorities told us to apply through
Shell for a visa. In the case of the Corrib gas pipeline
and the Shell to Sea people we have again
been lickspittling. We must examine operations
such as Shell, which has devastated the environment.
While it has a cosmetic campaign of
environmentally friendly advertisements and
invests in organisations such as National Geographic,
it is a dangerous company.
I agree with Senator O’Toole about building
industry standards, which this House should
examine. To balance that, I am proud of the 700
Irish building workers and Niall Mellon who went
to South Africa at their own expense to build
houses in the townships for the South African
deprived.
Senators: Hear, hear.
Mr. Norris: We can be proud of those types of
Irish people in the building industry.