Frances Fitzgerald (Fine Gael)

I am delighted he will be here when we return. Having said that, I believe the Government is leaving it dangerously late to set a date for the referendum treaty. It has also been left dangerously late to inform the public of the benefits of the Lisbon treaty because many people are still very unsure what it is all about. There is a risk that it will be defeated if people do not know what they are voting for and are clear about it. That no date has been set means there is not a focus on it as there ought to be at this stage, given the short time left. I welcome the fact that the President of the European Parliament will address the House and that we will spend the day discussing European issues. I am sure it will contribute to a better understanding of what is at stake among the public.

There are many urgent issues to be discussed on our return, one of which is the Lisbon treaty. Another is the economy, which Senators Ross and Alex White spoke about yesterday. There is a very serious deterioration in the public finances and a changed situation from the time of the budget. We have high inflation, the downgrading of economic growth by a huge amount, the public finances are €516 million off target, people are worrying about job security and unemployment queues are growing, which is a sad situation facing people.

I am concerned there has been no statement from the Government on its plan to deal with this situation. While Fianna Fáil Ministers have been very quick to take credit for progress in the economy, yet when there are difficulties they all seem to be caused by international factors which, clearly, is not the case. In the absence of a plan we see cuts in frontline services, day care centres being closed or not being staffed, patients waiting for services and the HSE has said it is not filling any of the posts which were vacant on 31 December. This is having a huge impact on OT services, speech therapy centres and centres for the homeless. All kinds of areas are being affected, without any debate or discussion. Instead of burying its head in the sand, we need a discussion and a plan from the Government. We need to know how the change in the public finances will be handled. We need a discussion to ensure the frontline services will not be affected but rather the waste and the bureaucratic nightmare that we see in the HSE report will be tackled. I seek a debate on the economy in the early days when we return.

We must ensure more topical discussions more immediately. When an issue arises, I ask that the House has an opportunity to discuss it immediately rather than several weeks later. There is no reason we cannot have a discussion when an issue arises, with the views of Members put on the record, even if the senior Minister is not available. We must change that and that must be the decision today: that we come back and discuss issues when they arise so that what we discuss is topical and relevant.