Ivor Callely (Fianna Fail)

I raised the issue on 24 April but I have not received a response. I have raised other issues and I know many other Members have raised issues. It is a matter for the CPP that supports and structures should be in place so that when a Member raises an issue, there must be some measure of communication with the Member, perhaps not directly from the Leader as we cannot put everything on his desk, but from the relevant authority with which the issue is being raised and within an appropriate number of days, as agreed by all Members. In this case, the relevant authority would be the Department of Health and Children. I put this to the Leader and he might take the opportunity to respond.

There is a second issue I have raised on a number of occasions, including yesterday. I asked that an all-party motion be agreed, with or without debate in the House, on the humanitarian issues that pertain in both Burma and China. I expressed my concern that the aid agencies and diplomats working there to assist people who are being struck — I gave a figure of 1.8 million people homeless for Burma——