Feargal Quinn (Independent)

I hope he was listening to me. The reason I raise the issue is that the number of deaths on our roads is an issue for which we have a responsibility. We know we can do something about it, that speed cameras are good value for money, that we can invest in such a system and that we must argue very strongly for it. I am delighted to see that the British authorities have decided to do this although I had hoped we could have led the way instead.

In regard to concept of prevention being better than cure, will the Leader bring to the attention of the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Harney, the early warning system which has been launched in Britain? The system is attached to the cots of premature babies and detects their distress rather than heart-stoppage. The difference is that up to now when the heart stopped beating the alarm went off, whereas the alarm now detects when the child is in distress and one can take action ahead of time. When I saw the figures for cystic fibrosis in the Republic of Ireland as compared to those on Northern Ireland I realised we could do something about many diseases by investing in the correct preventive solutions rather than attempting to cure them after the fact.

Some time ago I read that in China a doctor is not paid on the number of visits on which he or she attends to a patient but rather on the number of days the patient is well and does not have to visit. That seems to me to be the ideal answer — one pays the doctor for keeping the patient well rather than for attending to the patient.