Order of Business - 10th October 2007

Order of Business - 10th October 2007
Senator David Norris: I support my colleague,
Senator Bacik, in her call for a debate on abortion.
This is a complex and difficult issue and
people on both sides have strongly held views. I
raised the matter towards the end of the last
Seanad in the light of a very dignified letter written
by a woman who was not an extreme person.
She was not even particularly liberal, as far as I
know, but she wrote as an ordinary Irish citizen
in the light of the impact her anencephalic pregnancy
would have on her family.
We have betrayed people by long-fingering this
debate. It is significant that a senior Anglican
cleric has reproached us, as legislators, for our
lack of courage. This is the Chamber
in which to address these kinds of
issues because we have a history of
dealing with complicated, divisive and emotive
issues in a calm and rational way, although there
are divided opinions.
I agree with Senator Alex White in requesting
the Ta´ naiste and Minister for Finance to come
into the House, not specifically to deal with the
issue he raised but instead to deal with an issue
that impacts on many young people in particular,
that is, the sub-prime mortgage issue. People are
finding themselves in a position of negative
equity. During the week there were 39 cases of
court action to gain possession of houses, which
is very worrying.
We also ought to take a stand about radio
advertisements marketing these services, where,
for example, there is a positive statement about
taking a mortgage including consolidating one’s
credit card debts, but then not letting people
know that by so doing they are moving from a
position of unsecured debt into one of secured
debt and they could lose their house over their
credit card debt, which is intolerable. In addition,
the warning at the end they are statutorily
required to provide is gabbled at an ungodly rate
nobody could understand and is the voice-over
equivalent of the notorious small print in
contracts.
I suggest the Leader find time for a debate on
Windscale. New information has now come to
light that the explosion in 1958 was significantly
worse. We know there are clusters of Down’s syndrome
births, still births, etc., in the area of Dundalk
and the east coast. We also know that there
was significant low-scale pollution before, during
and after that accident through the smokestacks
at Windscale. It is a matter we should monitor
through this House.