John Paul Phelan (Fine Gael)

I join with previous speakers in raising questions about yesterday's Government announcement with regard to cutbacks. At first glance, when considering where the proposed savings of €440 million are to come from, the figures do not appear to add up. Moreover, a 3% payroll cut in all Departments, except Health and Children and Education and Science, does not add up to the figure announced yesterday. While yesterday's announcement was vague, Members may get an opportunity later today, during their debate on the economy, for a more detailed pronouncement on those cutbacks.

I agree with the comments made by Senator Twomey and join with him in calling for a discussion on decentralisation. One of the clear indications arising from yesterday's announcement was the decentralisation programme has been kicked to touch. There has been a degree of divergence between the Fianna Fáil and Green Party wings of Government as to what is the present status of decentralisation. I join with Senator Twomey in asking for a debate on that issue.

I also join with Senator Prendergast in her comments on the Central Mental Hospital. I witnessed some of yesterday's events when parents of patients in the hospital appeared before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and Children. It was a harrowing meeting and for someone like me, who was not intimately familiar with the details of the hospital's move to the Thornton Hall site, it was an eye-opener. It makes no sense from either an economic or mental health best practice perspective. This issue should be revisited and I urge the Leader to ask for such reconsideration.

My final point pertains to the House's Adjournment debates that are organised by the Cathaoirleach. It probably is too late in the present session to make much difference. However, I again ask the Leader, following the return of Members in the fall of the year, to do something to ensure that relevant Ministers are available. I appreciate it is not always possible to have present a Minister from a particular Department. Last week, however, I tabled an Adjournment matter that was accepted by the Cathaoirleach. Two of the three Adjournment matters related to health and the debate took place at 1 p.m. on Thursday. I refuse to accept that not one of the four or five Ministers or Ministers of State at the Department of Health and Children was available to appear in the Seanad to take two out of the three Adjournment matters that related to health matters.

The issue I raised concerned an individual case and it is highly unsatisfactory to deal with a Minister for a different Department when one raises a specific issue because one is unable to get a detailed response to the problem in question. While the Leader is probably trying his best in this regard, Ministers should treat the Seanad with more respect. In such a case, in which two of three matters related to a particular Department that has attached to it a Minister and three or four Ministers of State, at least one should be available to respond to matters raised on the Adjournment.