Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)

I thank the Minister for his reply which is very informative. However, my questions were specifically about the transition teams he announced. To the best of my recollection he did not mention them in the course of that very detailed response to my question. In terms of the crisis in the health service I dealt with the case of a 96 year old lady who was on a trolley for three days in Beaumont Hospital. She was still on the trolley until I asked my office to intervene and, God knows, she could still be there.

The reason we are asking these questions is to try to get the Government working better and to keep it accountable. I raised earlier the issue of Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital and so on. I have here the question and answer that we dealt with on 23 November. There is something wrong with a Government which gives a specific commitment both in meeting the leaders of the Opposition and coming forward with a request for a commission of inquiry, with which the Taoiseach agreed in opposition and clearly has done nothing about. To say he is still waiting for a response from the Attorney General from November until March on the back of 17 years of campaigning by the people involved shows the Government is not functioning properly.

Question No. 8, which the Taoiseach dealt with in response to the questions from Teachta Martin, asks about the notion of the implementation of the programme for Government and how he is trying to change his Department in order that it becomes a Cabinet office. Are there plans to bring forward reports assessing the progress made on implementation and how is the House informed about these matters? Without wishing to be hankering on this issue, I have raised it four or five times and have been given more or less the same answers. That shows a failure of government. I know it is not deliberate or malicious and that the Taoiseach is genuine and regards this as a serious issue that needs to be dealt with but what dsyfunctionality in government prevents this from proceeding?

See this speech in context