Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister and wish him well in his work on Northern Ireland, in particular. I am glad our good wishes were conveyed to him.

In the House last week, members of the Minister's party expressed concern and demanded better management systems and more financial accountability in the health service. I presume the same applies to the area of justice, particularly as the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform is a member of the Progressive Democrats. On his appointment, he was cast in the role of a reforming Minister – a role he was glad to accept. He now has the opportunity to do something positive.

I welcome his contribution and the fact he has acknowledged that he is not prepared to stand over and is not satisfied with the figures and statistics so ably provided by Senator Terry in proposing this motion. The figures were certainly damning. Senator Terry also outlined what visiting committees should be doing. Are they performing the duties with which they are charged? The Minister did not address that issue.

We are not asking for university professors to be appointed, we are requesting that people with skills in the areas outlined in the motion be called upon. The Minister hit the nail on the head when he said we need decent, upright people with common sense. I was delighted to hear there is a difference between Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats.