Seanad report: There should be no increased representation from Northern Ireland in the Seanad until there was a united Ireland, a Fianna Fáil member said. Ms Ann Ormonde said she had no difficulty with the Taoiseach nominating a representative from the North, but she would not like too much representation from that part of the country.
When unification came about, people from the North could canvass for votes "like the rest of us. I would not give them a hand out. I don't mind having a representative here, but there should be no more than that".
Earlier, Dr Maurice Hayes (Ind), a nominee of the Taoiseach, said the only way he could see of increasing Northern representation, in the present form, was by giving the Taoiseach an extra two or three "slots" and by trying to fill them from across the political spectrum in the North.
Dr Hayes suggested that consideration should be given to allocating a third or a quarter of seats in the Seanad to those under 25.
The leader of the House, Mrs Mary O'Rourke, said she had been unable to understand the punitive nature of a clause in the Airports Act which "ear-marked for demolition" the chief executive of Aer Rianta, Ms Margaret Sweeney.
Responding to Mr Joe O'Toole, (Ind), Mrs O'Rourke said she would try to find out what the current position was in relation to Ms Sweeney, who was "a very fine woman".