I support the call for a debate on rural Ireland and particularly the funding allocated for rural regeneration that was announced last week. That announcement was a slap in the face for rural Ireland. I worked out that it would not provide a decent wheelbarrow per parish, never mind rural regeneration. There are houses in the middle of towns and villages across the country that are vacant and falling down. If we are serious about housing and rural regeneration, that is something that must be addressed with investment rather than some of the harebrained schemes being proposed by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government.

I also refer to the capital programme that was announced yesterday. A lot of it is stuff we have heard before; it has simply been repackaged and presented as something new. People from my area are sick and tired of hearing about the Adare bypass. We have been hearing about it for the last 20 years or more, but it is welcome that apparently we will see it come to fruition this time. The biggest infrastructural project that must be undertaken in this country - the lack of which is holding my region back - is the building of a motorway connecting Limerick and Cork. These are our second and third largest cities and the fact that they are not connected via a motorway is something that sticks in the craw of those living in the region and holds it back, particularly in Limerick city and its hinterland. In order to attract investment, we need that connectivity. Yet again, however, such a motorway has not been announced. I have presented a motorway project to the Minister, a different form of public private partnership that could have delivered that infrastructure, and I am very disappointed that it was not included in the capital programme announced yesterday.

Regarding the issue raised by Senator Paul Coghlan, I spoke to staff at my local radio station recently. Local radio stations are competing on a very uneven playing field against the national broadcaster, given its receipt of television licence fee funding. The service provided by Live95 FM in Limerick, particularly by Joe Nash on his "Limerick Today" programme and Liam Aherne who covers sport, is second to none.

They support local communities and promote local festivals and initiatives across the board. They give airtime to issues of huge concern to people in local areas, of which the national media, RTE in particular, do not appear to take a blind bit of notice. The broadcasting charge is something the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Alex White, will have to tackle. I support Senator Paul Coghlan's call to have the Minister attend the House for such a debate.

I join my colleague Senator Marc MacSharry in requesting from the Leader a debate on rural Ireland for the reasons outlined by colleagues on all sides of the House in the past few years but, in particular, those outlined in the past few months.

I support Senator Paul Coghlan in his comments on local radio stations. It is unacceptable that they are operating on a shoestring budget while providing an excellent service. I agree totally with Senator James Heffernan that they should be allocated a percentage of the licence fee that is collected by the State. It is also interesting to note that on the meagre budget they have, they must pay 2% to maintain a regulator for local broadcasting stations. That is not acceptable. At least that should be paid for directly by the State. I would welcome a debate on this issue. Their association made a presentation to the Fianna Fáil think-in in Sutton and it would be worthwhile to circulate it to colleagues in the House.

I ask the Leader if it is the intention of the Government to hold a by-election to fill the vacancy that has come about following the regrettable resignation of our former colleague Jimmy Harte.

I issue a little advice to the Taoiseach through the Leader that, given the "record of achievement", of the European Agriculture Commissioner, former Deputy Phil Hogan, as a Minister, it would not be wise to take his advice on when to go to the country. He has made a total hames of everything he has touched to date. That is just a little friendly advice.

He brought forward the 30% quota.

I would not take his advice on when to go to the country. If it is taken, the Government will be wiped out. I would wait until March.

Did the Senator hear Senator Mary White? He brought forward the 30% quota.

I said he had made a mess of most things he had touched.