Alex White (Labour)

I want to endorse what Senator Donohoe said. I accept the Minister has been in the House previously and always has been prepared to debate the issue of co-location but that does not mean I agree with her. We are consolidating a two tier system in this principle of co-location. In terms of the direction people take when they come into a hospital we are saying that people with resources will turn left while those without resources will turn right.

Senator Feeney made the point earlier that we had the election and that is over and done with, as if we cannot have any further debate now. I do not wish to offend members of the Progressive Democrats but I will quote from a statement which refers to them and they will have to live with it. It states:

The Progressive Democrats and their ideologically flexible allies in Fianna Fáil are intent on intrenching inequality. We do not agree on the promotion of a two-tiered health system where treatment is given on the basis of ability to pay rather than medical need. Fianna Fáil, in the past, has committed itself to equal access of all patients. This latest move by the PDs runs in the face of that.

I draw attention to this final sentence, which states:

If Fianna Fáil continues to support the PDs in these moves then it can no longer say it is committed to social justice.

Who said that and when? It was the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy John Gormley, on 20 March 2007, only a few months ago. If the Green Party continues to support the Progressive Democrats in these moves, I can no longer say it is committed to social justice.