Geraldine Feeney (Fianna Fail)

I support Senator Norris in his call for a debate on hygiene standards in hospitals. We did not need to wait until this morning to know that some hospitals are in a deplorable state because this has been known for a long time and they seem to be getting worse rather than better. This is an independent audit and it has given another result alongside the national audit. Another Member regarded Senator Norris's comments as flippant but I do not agree. One in five employees of the Health Service Executive works in administration. I do not think cleaning is rocket science. One of those employees could take on the job of supervising the cleaning. I hope that when the Minister for Health and Children comes to the House next week the debate will be widened to include issues such as this.

Every day in town I encounter nurses who are out in the street in their uniforms. They are in shops, supermarkets and restaurants. They are clearly identifiable as nurses or health care workers because they are wearing either a nursing or other health care professional uniform. Hygiene is a two-way matter. There is an onus on members of the public who visit hospitals to take care but there is also an onus on those who work in hospitals not to wear their uniforms in the street and carry back bugs and germs to the vulnerable ill people in hospital.