Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)

I support the contributions made by Senators Fitzgerald, Norris and Boyle on Burma. The television pictures and the radio reports are distressing. Those of us in the western world have let the people of Burma down badly in the past 18 months. It behoves the Government, at European Council of Ministers level, to intervene on behalf of them to get emergency aid to the area as a matter of urgency and to get the visa regulations waived so that we can assist them. That is a matter of extreme urgency and the Leader will find no fault from this side of the House in that regard.

This is a day of new beginnings. I hope the Leader will manage to appoint a new Minister for Health and Children because the Government has presided over a failed health strategy, illustrated by the fact that yesterday was National Asthma Day and we have no national strategy for asthma. There are 470,000 people suffering from asthma in this country and Ireland lies fourth in the world asthma league. It is a shame and an indictment of the people opposite that we do not have a national strategy on asthma. We need one as a matter of urgency.

I hope the Leader, who I believe is well in with the new Taoiseach, will keep bringing him cups of tea. I ask the Leader to bring him to the House so that——