Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail)

I support the call by Senator Brian Hayes for a debate on competitiveness. There have been indications in recent years that if the issue is not addressed, it will impact on employment. I ask the Leader to consider broadening the debate to also include the public sector. Recent private sector reports on profits made by some of the telecommunications companies indicate that we are not benefiting because of the lack of competition. The cost of telecommunications is high by comparison with elsewhere.

Likewise in the public sector, we are not getting value for money in many capital projects and, probably, current expenditure. The Minister is meeting today with the Road Haulage Association. It would be a travesty if hundreds of millions of euro were being injected into major capital projects that would not accommodate future traffic flows over the coming 40 to 60 years. There is a lack of vision in much of the policy-making in this area.

I ask the Leader to consider with the Committee on Procedure and Privileges how we might address these issues. While debates in the House are desirable and often stimulating, I am not sure they lead to any great impact or change in policy. It could be beneficial for the House to tap into the range of expertise among Members by establishing a number of small committees to cover key areas to address these matters. They could produce reports which may be adopted by the Seanad and monitored to see how they contribute to the formulation of Government policy.

If there is an outbreak of SARS in this country – God forbid it should happen – I have no doubt that the thrust of the media and Opposition comment will be similar to the tone set a number of weeks ago, with complaints that we should take similar steps to those taken to prevent the outbreak of foot and mouth disease from spreading. However, the sensible decision by the Minister for Health and Children to support his expert group was criticised. It is a no-win situation. The ultimate responsibility of the Minister is not to the Special Olympics, groups or other countries but to the people of this country. There is a significant incidence of fatalities from SARS for those who are middle aged and older.