SEANAD REPORT: It was ludicrous that, despite inquiries to several Government Departments she had been unable to discover whether it was constitutional to compel people to be members of occupational pension schemes, Ms Sheila Terry (FG) said.
The Minister of State, Mr John Brown, responding on behalf of the Minister for Social and Family Affairs, Ms Coughlan, said her understanding was that the issue of compulsory membership of such schemes arose in the context of an employment contract. Employment contract law did not come within the scope of the Pensions Act and was therefore not a matter for her Department.
President George W. Bush was an embarrassment in the United States, Ms Mary White (FF) remarked when she supported calls for a debate on Iraq. She said she had recently attended a function in the US at which George Bush snr had said he totally supported his son on the war in Iraq. Only 20 per cent of those present had applauded him; many were senior Republican supporters. "The thinking Republicans are absolutely embarrassed by George W. Bush," Ms White said.
Mr David Norris (Ind) said it was astonishing for him, having just returned from the US, to see the way in which the American people were fed "pap" about the issue of weapons of mass destruction.
The Israeli approach to such matters should also be debated. "It is very important that this House say something very clearly to the Israeli people, who are our friends, and to their government who are behaving so disgracefully," Mr Norris said.
"It is an outrage that a cabinet Minister, Ehud Olmert, should call publicly for what he described as the liquidation or the elimination of Yasser Arafat who was elected to represent his people.
"The last time I heard those kind of remarks they were made in a German accent, and in a civilised country nobody should be allowed to remain in cabinet having said that kind of thing," added Mr Norris.
Replying to a query from Mr Michael McCarthy (Lab), the leader of the House, Ms Mary O'Rourke, said that if there were to be a referendum on the issue of capping land prices, it was the hope of the Taoiseach that it would coincide with the next local and European elections.