I want to get the attention of the Leader.

I always pay attention.

This is important. I appreciate that the Leader has tried to help with the issue of the Jadotville medals. I ask the Cathaoirleach to bear with me. I briefly raised the issue with the Minister of State in the canteen this morning. I asked when he would meet me and Senator Craughwell. He said he would come in to the Seanad at some point but is not going to meet us. He is not going to address the medals issue. He said that to me this morning. He said he has a different plan.

As the Leader knows, we have acted entirely in good faith. We drafted a motion supported by most Members of the House but have withheld it for months to avoid dividing the House. The Minister of State has refused to meet me and Senator Craughwell although we are supported by the majority of Senators in wishing to do something honourable for those men. I propose an amendment to the Order of Business, to bring in the Minister of State. He should respect the majority of Members of this House and address the issue in an honourable way. We tried to be fair up until now and the Leader knows I have acted in good faith. It has all changed since I spoke to the Minister of State this morning, however. If he can give medals commemorating 1916 to all members of the Defence Forces, why can he not give medals to the heroes of Jadotville?

Hear, hear.

I want it sorted today once and for all. There must be respect for the majority of Members of this House. I want a statement from the Minister of State with responsibility for defence and for him to do the honourable thing. We have acted honourably up until now. I propose an amendment to the Order of Business, for the Minister to come to the House today to make an urgent statement on what he is doing.

The proposed amendment is noted. The Senator will have to get someone to second it later.

I formally second my colleague's amendment regarding the sale of AIB shares. It would be a nonsense if this House did not express an opinion on this issue. This will probably be the biggest fiscal decision made in the past two years. We have young children in the Gallery today. We constantly hear of the problems and the need for investment in schools. We constantly hear of the need for investment in our health service, in our roads and in public transport. On many occasions Senators in this House have called for investment in the motorway connecting Limerick and Cork. I, myself, have been seeking investment in public transport, specifically in respect of Dublin. There is a proposal for Dublin public transport that would require an investment of €1 billion in the near future.

If the Minister cannot come to the House, I think we should have an open debate in the House and the motion should be voted on. Over a week ago, I put the Leader on notice that we would be tabling such a motion, and he asked us to delay it until the Minister was in the House. I listened to the Minister's contribution and I felt there was no justification for the sale at this stage. In fact, we will receive approximately €250 million in dividends from AIB which will come back to the taxpayer in 2017. There has been no cost-benefit analysis on future profits that could be made through dividends from the State's shares in AIB.

Under the current rules, if this sale goes ahead, that €3 billion will be used to pay down debt. That would be 1% - big deal. If we delay, we have an opportunity to make the sale in autumn and to make sure that money can be invested in much-needed infrastructure projects. The Labour Party has already started discussions with our sister parties across Europe with regard to changes in the fiscal rules and has received great support in the matter. The recently elected President of France has also indicated a need to change the fiscal rules in this area. There is no benefit in proceeding with the sale this month. If we delay until the autumn, there is an opportunity for an additional €3 billion to be invested in much-needed infrastructure throughout this country. I strongly believe we need to debate this in this House today.