Brendan Ryan (Labour)

——with a considerably greater degree of success than Senator Glynn has had in any election in which he was not depending on party votes. We do not need to start worrying about that one.

The really disappointing thing is that the Minister for Health and Children came to the House to talk about everything except the nub of the motion, which is why hospital facilities worth €500 million are lying idle. What sort of incompetence means that those responsible for the management of our health services, when they are building something, cannot plan to bring it on stream when it has been finished? If the National Roads Authority left roads and motorways lying unused because it could not afford to put road markings on them, we would sack the NRA. If third level educational institutions left buildings empty, we would sack the Department of Education and Science. Apparently, a quarter of that capital expenditure has been used on hospital buildings that are lying idle. That scale of incompetence deserves nothing less than sacking, phase one of which, namely protective notice, was issued to this Government on 11 June. The final notice will issue whenever it plucks up the courage or is forced by the Constitution to face the people in a general election. The major difference now from four weeks ago is that the people have shown that they have copped on. They will no longer tolerate Fianna Fáil's nonsense. The people have said "No" to Fianna Fáil's choice of the rich against the poor and the powerful against the powerless and the real question for Fianna Fáil at this stage is what part of "No" it does not understand. Today, the Minister for Finance, the favourite Minister of the Progressive Democrats — a member of the PDs could not be better in terms of political ideology — asserted yet again that he would do it his way. The Minister for Health and Children came in here and pretended he is fighting with this Minister and accepted Deputy McCreevy's definition that the national interest is the national interest.