Frances Fitzgerald (Fine Gael)

Three reports into the misdiagnosis of breast cancer in the Midland Regional Hospital will be published today. I was concerned when I heard this morning that the patients involved had not yet been contacted to be told that the reports were being published. I hope that is rectified before the press conference today at which the results will be announced. However, even if they are contacted today, it is still too late. They should have been contacted before the story reached the media about the reports being published.

These reports must not sit on shelves, but must inform future practice. The confidence of women and their families in the breast cancer care services must be restored. The critical issue is how we move forward. There must also be accountability where we understand what went wrong and learn from it.

It was very disturbing to read this morning about the cutbacks in the HSE. We will need a discussion in this House about the hundreds of millions of euro in cutbacks which are apparently being planned. It was also disturbing to hear that every vacant post on 31 December 2007 is now deemed to be a post that no longer exists, no matter what the reason for the vacancy on 31 December. This has great implications for all kinds of services across the country. I would like to know the up-to-date position on those cutbacks and the implications for services. It is a cause of much concern to everyone in this House.

Many Senators have been saying in the last few weeks that we need to discuss topical issues as they arise, unlike the pharmacy debate yesterday, when we had a discussion after the key decision had been made. I request that the Leader make time available tomorrow for a debate on the reports to be published today, as this would give Senators an opportunity to read the documents. It would also require a change in the Order of Business to reflect a decision to discuss what is current and important. If it is not possible to make such a change, I ask that a debate be arranged for Tuesday next.

Yesterday, the Reverend Ian Paisley announced his intention to resign from office in May. While historians will judge Dr. Paisley's overall contribution, the issue that is uppermost in our minds today is that he said "Yes" rather than "No" in the past year. We have all been pleased to see work commence in the power-sharing institutions in Northern Ireland. Recently, the Heath, Social Services and Public Safety Committee became the first committee of the Northern Ireland Assembly to visit the Oireachtas. It had a successful meeting with the Joint Committee on Health and Children, which was wonderful. In that regard, this is an appropriate time to have the debate on Northern Ireland requested by Senators Cummins, Quinn and Doherty.