Susan O'Keeffe (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am sure Senator MacSharry is unhappy nothing is happening on the ground. It is like his unhappiness that nothing was happening on the ground with the promissory notes.

I am disappointed that the draft HSE report on the death of Savita Halappanavar has been leaked. We talked a great deal in this House about her death, its consequences and the difficulties it caused for her husband Praveen. This is yet another difficulty for him. The report could and should have been kept confidential until next week when it is due to be published. I am profoundly disappointed at the leaking of the report.

I appreciate and applaud the fact the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine is meeting his fellow Ministers in Brussels today on the horsemeat scandal. He was generous with his time before the joint committee last week. Now the story has progressed, he might find the time to come into the House. There much to discuss on this issue and there are many unanswered questions and issues to be faced in future, not least country of origin labelling, which should be brought into force even sooner than planned. Clearly there is a problem with the provenance of horses and a new system must be put in place for horsemeat traceability. We have a gold standard traceability system in this country for beef and we need as a matter of urgency to implement a similar gold standard across Europe for horsemeat. I urge the Minister to find the time to have that discussion with us.

I wish those people well who are perhaps trying to give up smoking today. I feel strongly about the incidence of cancer. The public consultation committee report showed that lung cancer is still the second most common cancer in Ireland, with people dying every day as a result. I wish well those who want to use Ash Wednesday as a good day to give up.

I thank the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government for the changes he made to the property tax, putting people those who are least able to pay in a better position.