Seanad Report: The Seanad should nominate a name for the new ship the Naval Service will take delivery of next year, Independent Senator Sean Barrett suggested.

He called on party leader to confer on the issue with a view to proposing a name to Minister for Defence Alan Shatter.

“It would be appropriate for Members of a House which has proved to be unsinkable this year to arrive at a jointly agreed proposal for the Minister, Deputy Shatter, on the name for the new ship.”

Fianna Fáil leader Darragh O'Brien welcomed Mr Shatter's announcement that that applications will be accepted from next week for new recruits to the Garda Síochána. "This is a positive step and one for which I have repeatedly called. An issue I have raised directly with the Minister in respect of any new programme of recruitment is the position of members of the Garda Reserve, many of whom would be expected to apply."

He said there was a two-year training programme at Templemore before new recruits pass out as full members of the force.

“Provision should be made whereby those who have served as members of the Garda Reserve, and have thus completed basic training, are given priority in the application process.”

He understood there might be a legal issue in this regard, but I would like to tease it out with the Minister

Labour Senator Aideen Hayden welcomed the news that Forbes has named Ireland as the best country in which to do business, "ranking it first this year as opposed to sixth last year, with New Zealand and Hong Kong in second and third places, respectively".

But she described it as “something of a mixed blessing, in that the reasons cited for Ireland being such a good place to do business include the 12.5 per cent unemployment rate and the availability of a highly qualified workforce.”.

“While it is good to be acknowledged as a great place to do business, we must look at some of the reasons for that.”

She highlighted the announcement by Pfizer pharmaceuticals that it would cut the number of jobs in its Newbridge plant by 150.

This “follows the loss of 570 jobs at the MSD plant in Swords and 110 jobs in Castlebar.

“On the other hand, there has been growth in the biopharmaceutical area. It is important that we do not end up with a situation in which there are structural issues where plant is available and educated workers are losing their jobs on the one hand and, on the other, emerging sectors within the industry are showing great promise.”

She called on the Seanad leader to invite the Minister to the House to discuss the future of the pharmaceutical sector and what actions the Government is taking to protect jobs.

Fine Gael senator Deirdre Clune noted the 0.1 per cent drop register figures yesterday "I wish I was welcoming a figure of 4 per cent, but I am not. We will get there, however, as we are on the right track."

She congratulated the Taoiseach on reaching his target in 2013 rather than 2016 of Ireland being the best country in which to do business.