Feargal Quinn (Independent)

I draw the attention of the Leader to a matter I have raised on occasion previously, namely, what I call the paper trail. I refer to the volume of paper that lands on my desk and I am sure the desk of every other Member of this and the other House. At least 226 brown envelopes containing the Order Paper were circulated today — it is probably the only brown envelope most of us ever receive. Members receive much paper that is unnecessary. I raise this matter because my attention was drawn to the words of the chief executive of GS1, the organisation encouraging the use of technology. He said that more than 20% of the time of doctors and nurses in hospitals is taken up dealing with paperwork. An experiment in this respect being pioneered in St. James's Hospital needs to be extended.

The chief executive of GS1 also said that medical errors are a big part of the health care system that could be transformed by removing paper and switching to technology. We are aware of the volume of paper we receive and the waste resulting from that, but we also know that technology exists that would enable us to do without this volume of paper. I do not know to what extent we can step forward on this issue, but it would be beneficial if the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Gormley, was invited to come into the House and we had an opportunity to convince him that rather than transpose everything onto paper, we have the ability to do things differently.

I wish to raise one other matter that is a cause of tension. I have a concern that sometimes we try to solve problems around the world without full knowledge of what is taking place. I had the opportunity to visit China during the year and I am aware there are practices happening in China of which we do not approve. However, I believe the way we solve these matters is by convincing those in other parts of the world to change their attitude rather than boycotting them. I am concerned about Stephen Spielberg's action yesterday and his call for a boycott of the Olympic Games in China unless China behaves differently in terms of what it is doing in another part of the world.

Regardless of our view on this, I believe that the way we manage to change things in other parts of the world is by bringing people into the tent and convincing them of the wisdom of a change of attitude rather than by introducing boycotts. I urge us not to support the various calls for boycotts of events such as the Olympic Games in order to convince people of the need to change, even if we do not agree with what they are doing in other parts of the world. Let us make sure that we use the case of argument and debate to try to convince them to change their ways