Mary O'Rourke (Fianna Fail)

Senator Finucane, acting leader of the Opposition, raised the issue of the Supreme Court ruling which was given yesterday morning and led the calls for the Tánaiste to come to the House to debate the matter. We asked her office last night if she could come to the House next week, but a response is pending. On any occasion that she has been asked to come to the House she has never refused and I hope she will be able to come on this occasion.

Senator O'Toole, who apologised because he had to leave the House, said this should not become a political football. If there is an €0.5 billion hole in the health budget, I would imagine it would have to be spread over all Departments. If that amount was taken in one gulp from one Department, it would be injurious to the work of other Departments. I do not know — I am speaking on the basis of precedent in terms of what happened in other areas. I was looking around and — with apologies to Senator Tuffy — wondering who is from the legal profession in the House. I hope members of that profession do not get their mitts on it.