Pearse Doherty (Sinn Fein)

Ba mhaith liom ceist a chur ar an Leas Cheannaire. An gcuirfidh sé ceist ar an Taoiseach agus ar an Aire Gnóthaí Eachtracha an rachfaidh siad i ngleic leis an cheist ó thaobh na himircigh atá sna Stáit Aontaithe, Meiriceá? The Deputy Leader may be aware that, in recent months, there has been an intensification of the imprisonment of undocumented Irish in the United States and of deporting them back to this island. Three people from my county are awaiting deportation for the past couple of months. A young 27 year old has been in a correction centre for a number of weeks and is awaiting deportation to Ireland. Another young lad from my constituency was held in a prison for more than a month. I ask the Deputy Leader to ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Foreign Affairs to engage with the political parties in the United States and particularly the two presidential candidates, Senator McCain, who has sponsored US immigration legislation, and Senator Obama. The Spanish league has already engaged with the two candidates. I ask that the Taoiseach, along with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, to use his trip to the Untied States this July to deal with this issue as effectively and speedily as possible.

The Deputy Leader said three months ago that the gateway innovation fund was due to be announced the following week. There is serious concern in the eight gateways where the €300 million pilot fund was supposed to be invested. The spatial strategy means nothing to those in most of the gateways because the funds have not been made available. This was supposed to be the first slice of the cake but it is now feared they will be subject to the cutbacks the Government is announcing. The Deputy Leader may have information on when the gateway innovation fund will be announced.

On health care, what is happening in Letterkenny General Hospital is appalling. The cutbacks or budgetary constraints in the hospital are ridiculous. Health care is supposed to involve putting patients first. When the Taoiseach opened the short-stay unit in Letterkenny just over a year ago, he said it was a major step forward. That the ward is now closing, thereby taking 20 beds out of the system in the hospital, is a major step backwards. Coupled with the fact that day services are being scaled back for the month of August, what is happening, including the activity of the Government, is ridiculous. I ask that the Deputy Leader exert some pressure on the Government or facilitate a debate. The problem is not unique to Letterkenny in that it features in Galway and elsewhere. Let there be no doubt that other hospitals will withdraw services over the summer months.

On a final point——