Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)

I have listened with interest to what the Minister of State said. I regard any person elected in this republic and to this assembly as an equal citizen with the same mandate. There are no first or second division Deputies, irrespective of what party they belong to or if they belong to none. If what I might have said or the way in which I said it suggested that I did not so believe, that is not the case. I do believe, however, that just as the KGB was the secret service in the Soviet Union, the HSE in the way in which it relates to directly elected Members is the secret service of our health system because we do not get answers. I was with Professor Drumm in the Alexander Hotel when the best of things were promised and I had great hopes for that kind of response. The reason I stopped writing to the HSE or attending those meetings is that they ceased to be effective.

As my colleague, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan has stated, we support the national cancer strategy. We support the experts. My Second Stage speech on this Bill did not challenge that. I merely pointed out with a degree of humility and on behalf of this generation of human beings that we do not know everything. The things we can measure are not all we can experience and the calm haven of St. Luke's to which Deputy Ó Caoláin referred has benefited many people. We are not seeking to change the national cancer strategy or its timetable. All we want is to add a belt and half a brace to the legislation, which will only become active in 2014 - who knows what will prevail by then - so that the decision making process will be delayed to allow the continued delivery of a residue of cancer treatment in the calm haven of St. Luke's.

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