Frances Fitzgerald (Fine Gael)

When the three reports on the situation at the Midland Regional Hospital in Portlaoise and the management of the crisis there were issued last week, I asked the Leader for a debate as soon as possible. Will he confirm whether that debate will take place this week? It is critical that we have an opportunity to discuss the details in the Fitzgerald report, which I hope everyone will read, and the questions that arise in regard to ministerial responsibility. Members on all sides of the House have spoken of their concern about how the Health Service Executive is doing its work. This report offers no reassurance in this regard. If it offers us a bird's eye view into how the HSE is being managed, the need for reform is clear. We must have a debate as soon as possible.

Will the Leader agree to a debate on the economy in light of recent headlines and the Taoiseach's comments on economic developments yesterday, notwithstanding his placing of the blame on the United States economy? It is interesting how, when everything is going well, we are told that Fianna Fáil created the boom but, when it is not going so well, we are told that the economy is determined by factors outside the Government's control.