Order of Business - 10th February 2009

Order of Business - 10th February 2009
Senator David Norris: I read an article in a newspaper during the week that suggested the word “crisis” derives from two ancient words, one meaning “danger” and the other meaning “opportunity”. We need to consider the idea of opportunity. We are in very difficult circumstances and there is a crisis, at which the banks are at the centre. My problem is that we do not know the extent of the deficit. It is like one of those old brain teasers in which one has to fill up a hole with a bucket with a leak without knowing quite how deep the hole is. We do not know the volume of assets that will be needed.
As a taxpayer, although in a fortunate position, like most of us present, I do not particularly want taxpayers’ money disappearing down an endless gully. We should sequester the assets of those property speculators who have caused this problem, remove them from private ownership and place them under the aegis of what one could describe roughly as a national property management agency. If the developments become profitable, a proportion can be returned to the private investors. While I know private property is protected by the Constitution, the overriding principle is the public good. I very much doubt that any Irish citizen believes the public good is served by pouring money into the pockets of those people.

Senator Denis O’Donovan: The Kenny report.

Senator David Norris: I compliment the Leader on the way he has fought stubbornly to have a reduction in the electricity tariff. He was supported in doing so by a number of Members, including myself. Circumstances are becoming increasingly worse. It is not just a question of the horrifying extent of the increases to bills, about which we hear on Joe Duffy’s “Liveline” because the regulator is apparently preventing a decrease. Will the Leader find out whether this is a fact? We privatised the electricity industry to a certain extent and at the time of doing so, we had the second lowest electricity costs in the European Union. After privatisation and the introduction of competition, which is supposed to reduce costs for everybody, our costs have become the second highest. I wonder, as a simple man, how on earth that can happen.
Consider the pay rise of 3.5% for the bank staff. I heard some staff state on the radio that they did not want it and were embarrassed by it. They never asked for it, yet it was landed upon them automatically and nobody is saying “stop”. In addition, we hear there is a €1.5 billion hole in the bank’s pension fund. Surely it should be looking after its pensions before making an increase of this kind.
We discussed a motion on the Middle East, which could take in some of the matters raised by Senator O’Donovan. I have tabled a motion on a war crimes inquiry. The same motion is to be laid before the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs this afternoon. It has been amended by the Chairman and I have accepted the amendment. I will forward the amended version to the Leader because it is very important to have a discussion on the Middle East, if possible this week. Perhaps a component of this could endorse the Government’s action in seeking a war crimes inquiry. I am not saying yet that anybody is guilty. Let us have the inquiry and then ascertain where the guilt lies.

Senator Ned O’Sullivan: Will the Leader arrange a debate on the future of the horse racing industry, whic