Brian Hayes (Fine Gael)

The embattled Minister is doing his best to come out of the storms. We need a statement from him in the next week or so about what is happening in Dublin hospitals. We are going to lose 250 beds in five acute hospitals in the city of Dublin this year for which there has to be some political accountability.

I also ask the Minister to come to the House to discuss his new found strategy to prevent SARS from coming into the country. He was found wanting over the Easter period when pressure was applied from Opposition Senators and Deputies. There is an urgent need for him to make a statement. I can assure him of the support of many on this side, unlike the support he receives from the Minister for Finance and others.

I encourage the Leader to organise statements on Northern Ireland, tomorrow if possible. She was in the House before the Easter recess when a very useful debate took place and Members bit their tongues to make sure they did not say things which were controversial or unhelpful to the talks. However, now is a time to be reflective as the talks have clearly broken down. There is a need for the Government to set out its stall and for Members on both sides of the House to reply to the Government's statement.

The IRA has no future. All it has is a past, and a very ugly past at that. It is important for this House to reiterate its support for both Governments and their stance in the talks and to say clearly to paramilitary organisations that they have no future, that they are not part of Ireland's future, that their past is something we do not relish and that as soon as they get off the scene the better in order that we can have a peace agreement which works to all our benefit.