David Norris (Independent)

I am glad my colleague Senator O'Toole raised the matter of the Munster Literature Centre. I, too, received that fine book of poetry and the accompanying letter, which I immediately sent on to the director of the James Joyce Centre in Dublin. The James Joyce Centre is internationally known. We restored the entire building by raising €1.5 million through voluntary efforts and we are in negotiations now with Government. A consultants' report has been commissioned, although it is perfectly obvious that what needs to be done is to separate the cost of maintaining the building, which should be a State cost, from the propagation and celebration of the works of James Joyce, for which we are quite capable of raising the money. The support of Senator O'Toole and, I am sure, many other Senators for a proper international literature centre dedicated principally to Joyce, for example, is welcome. I will be send the remarks of Senator O'Toole to Government and to the director of the James Joyce Centre.

I am sorry to have to raise a sad matter but I must inform the House that the young Nigerian woman, Adijat Okusanya, whose case I raised a few days ago, was sent back to Nigeria without any support and with no family. She is 19 years old and arrived in this country at the age of 15. She was halfway through her degree. She arrived back yesterday from Mountjoy police station. She was so traumatised she was taken to hospital. This is something of which we can be thoroughly ashamed if we really believe in human rights.

I also wish to raise the issue of Tallaght Hospital. I believe in centres of excellence and in an efficient service, but I have always allowed certain caveats. One is the efficient delivery of a transport service for people who travel long distances. In addition, certain services should not be closed down until their replacements, which may be more efficient, are in place.

I am concerned at the recent release by the Health Service Executive of a report on the urgent care centre at Tallaght Hospital, which is to replace the existing centre. This is on foot of a report by RKW. However, these consultants were precluded from considering the possibility of two centres, one in Tallaght and one in the Mater Hospital. The report refers to this on numerous occasions. It is obviously something they were concerned about, and they were briefed on this by the paediatric accident and emergency consultants. It is obvious the scope and the terms of reference were narrowed to get the result that was required. The department of geography in Trinity College also suggested that this was the safest method. Therefore, we have a number of expert professional bodies involved with this.

The Government's position is that there will be a service, but it is described as a clinic to deal with coughs, colds, bumps and bruises, and a day-case surgical unit to deal with grommets and other such minor procedures. There is also question of the Tallaght charter——