Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)

The Minister is a person for whom I had great admiration. Whenever I was asked, locally and nationally, who was the person outside my own party I most admired, I said the Minister was that person because of what she has done over the years, as a Minister and as a Member of this House. However, my respect for her as a Minister has definitely diminished this week.

This morning, I had a call from a constituent who told me she had e-mailed to the Minister for Health and Children a photograph of her 12-month-old baby daughter. In her e-mail she asked the Minister to choose whether she wanted the person in the photograph to be alive or dead in years to come.

That is the question I pose to the Minister and it is the one that people outside this House pose to us as public representatives. We are asked, as messengers of the people, to pose that question to the Minister. This is to save a measly €10 million. When one sees the wastage in the health service over the past number of years under the Minister's stewardship, it is shameful that the Minister comes into the House and gets rid of this service.

I return to my original point. The Minister said in her statement that this action would save lives. I ask her, as a public representative, to change her mind on this and to reverse what she has already done.

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