Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)

On behalf of the Technical Group I offer my deepest sympathy to the families of the fishermen who died at Glandore Harbour in west Cork and to the fishing communities of Ireland and Egypt. It was a very sad day, in particular because the incident happened only 2 km from land.

I raise the issue of our health service and the debate about front-line services, particularly in regard to the announcement yesterday about the proposed cuts of €700 million in 2012. I nearly choked on my cornflakes this morning when I heard the Minister for Health saying there would be no cuts to front-line services.

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