Tim O'Malley (Limerick East, Progressive Democrats)

Senator Norris made many points. On my appointment to this ministry, the first institution I visited was St. Ita's Hospital, Portrane, about which I had heard so much. I have given a promise that I will return. Progress has been made in the hospital, but it is a slow process because the institution is huge. The inspector was there again yesterday.

Many speakers, particularly Senator Norris, complimented the humane aspect of nursing. All of us are proud of the fantastic tradition of nursing. When we think of the terrible institutions in which many nurses had to work, we owe them a huge debt.

Senator Ryan mentioned a friend of mine, the late Michael Kelleher. In this, my first contribution in this House, I want to thank the Kelleher family. I met Michael's wife in Cork recently at a launch of a suicide report. Michael Kelleher did fantastic work in this field and it would be remiss of us to forget this. Unfortunately, he was taken from us some years ago, but I am delighted his wife is carrying on the tradition.

Senator McHugh made a good point about the use of theatre. I attended a new play by Mike Finn in Limerick the other night entitled, "The Quiet Moment". This is his second play, the first being "Peaktown," which was a huge success. This play is about Alzheimer's disease and I would recommend it to all Senators. If one knew nothing about the problem of Alzheimer's, one would only have to see this play to understand it. While I realise Alzheimer's disease presents a very different problem, I take the point made by the Senator.