We are all mindful of the serious threat we face today at the summit in Brussels given the recent views expressed by the German, Finnish and Dutch finance Ministers. They sought to block or back track on the solemn agreement made in June that sovereign debt and bank debt should be decoupled. It was specifically agreed that the vicious circle between the two should be broken and that Ireland's debt should be re-examined with a view to improving its sustainability. Despite the views of Senator Byrne, we can have confidence that our Taoiseach and his team will ensure that the solemn agreement or commitment is re-affirmed and that we can make progress.

I support the comments of Senator Coghlan. I reassure the House that An Taoiseach is doing absolutely everything to enforce the words of 29 June with regard to the separation of sovereign and private debt in the banks. To be fair, he is also gathering allies on this issue. Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament, was here last week. He said the agreement must be enforced as well. The Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, assures us that he is doing absolutely everything to get a deal on the debt. He has said that without it, it is like driving a car with the handbrake on. The House can rest assured that we are 100% sincere about this.

I am shocked and flabbergasted at the judgment in the sexual assault case reported on the front page of The Irish Times. A man with a previous record of serious harm and whose mother admitted that he had been a victim of sexual abuse as a child, got a suspended four-year sentence after attacking a 17 year old. As Senator Cáit Keane noted, he was asked to pay €15,000. I cannot get over why there was no requirement for him to attend counselling. The poor 17 year old victim is attending counselling every two weeks to get over it. This man has-----