During a Seanad debate on the restructuring of pensions at Aer Lingus, I said:  This did not happen on the Minister's watch. It happened on the watch of many others over the years, but what is happening now is on the Minister's watch. Only a few days ago the situation at Waterford Crystal was solved. It was solved by having the taxpayers put their hands into their pockets for €180 million or so...

During the Order of Business in the Seanad, I said: We are all shocked by last night’s “Prime Time” programme [on nursing homes]. It will be very hard to consider anything else while that is clearly in our minds. It is a reminder of what responsibilities we have. Senator Zappone has just touched on the legislation that we pass here, whether it is to protect whistleblowers or stop the actions we saw on last night’s programme. We must consider the importance of this House and ensuring it represents the whole country. Senator Zappone is quite correct in stating there are areas in which we can make changes. Whatever happens in Seanad reform, that is one of the changes that should take place...

During a Seanad debate on the Intellectual Property (Micellaneous) Provisions Bill 2014, I said: I welcome the Minister of State, who comes to the House regularly. We miss him as the Chairman of the Joint Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation. This legislation arises from the Action Plan for Jobs 2012. I welcome the Bill. I note that the Bill deals specifically with medicines and veterinary products. Will this affect developments in other fields, such as health? If a company was developing a certain product in the agricultural or agrifood sector, would this or other legislation cover the agricultural or biotech sector? That is part of the overall jobs strategy. We need to help the agricultural bio sector. We could also help SMEs in this sector through provisions similar to those contained in the Bill...

During the Order of Business in the Seanad, I said:  Yesterday's debate on the Action Plan for Jobs was very useful and it covered a very wide area. We used up all the time and had to squeeze in the final speakers. Another document was published yesterday by the National Competitiveness Council. It contains a considerable amount. It describes what we can do to create jobs, help the economy and ensure we stay where we are in competitiveness. It called on the Government to publish the Attorney General's most recent view on upward-only rent reviews...