Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)

Deputy Séamus Brennan is a man in this House for whom I have great time. I was Fine Gael spokesperson for social and family affairs and when Deputy Brennan came into this House, he did not know a great deal about social welfare. However, he was prepared to listen and learn. I found him to be a highly compassionate and decent man who gave loyal service to Fianna Fáil, the Government and the State. I was sorry to hear he is sick and am sorry he has left the Cabinet today.

The outgoing Taoiseach has spent the past month accepting tributes paid to him. Although Deputy Séamus Brennan also was part of the Government, he has departed today. In Deputy Brennan's absence, I wish to put on record, for his benefit and that of his wife and family, that he is a man of compassion to whom I brought many problems. He is a man who listened and dealt with such problems quietly. He was not afraid to listen to the Opposition or to take on ideas. I am sorry to note his departure from the Cabinet but I wish him well. Perhaps now he will be able to deal with his health problems. It would not have been easy to do so before, given the pressures of being a Minister. I wish him well and hope he has a speedy recovery. I mean this sincerely.

As for the Government, the Taoiseach had a wonderful opportunity today and it is a pity he did not introduce new faces. There is only one new person in the Cabinet today as everyone else had attended Cabinet meetings beforehand. It is like musical chairs or moving the chairs around on the Titanic. I regret he did not bring in more new faces and did not move other Ministers around. I will not criticise Deputy Harney tonight because she has taken a lot of stick that Fianna Fáil should take. The only reason Fianna Fáil allows her to remain there is because it has destroyed the Progressive Democrats. Moreover, it will destroy the Green Party, which will not be heard from after the next election. The Ministers, Deputies Gormley and Ryan, should enjoy their time in their State cars because they will not have them after the next general election. The Green Party will not be heard of then.

I will give the House a simple example of the problems in the Department of Health and Children. When the Government established the HSE, no staff lost their old jobs in the old health boards or the Department. Under the nursing home subvention scheme, the Government took money from old people who were unable to meet nursing home costs. I understood that it was planned to repay €1 billion to such people, but it now seems that just €400 million will be paid. I will tell the House who the real winners are. The State has paid €7 million to consultants. They will get €15 million before the scheme comes to an end. They have taken money from poor people. It is not above board. When we ask questions in the Dáil, we do not get answers. We are not told what is happening. We are told it is a matter for the constituents and the consultancy company. What is going on is wrong. Too many consultants and agencies are taking the State's money. I understand that consultants are contacting the Chairmen of Oireachtas committees to see if they can be given responsibility for compiling certain reports. They are looking for business from the Government. The biggest business in this country is the business of consultants.

I ask the Taoiseach to examine the stealth taxes which are putting this country's small businesses out of business. More and more small businesses are losing jobs every day as a result of the stealth taxes imposed by the local authorities and the Government. It is something that has to be considered if we are to support small businesses, which are the backbone of this economy, rather than putting them out of business.

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