Frances Fitzgerald (Fine Gael)

These departments are full of people on trolleys waiting to be looked after and this is documented every day. All of us who have attended an accident and emergency department over the past few months know the staff are incredibly hard pressed. Who will pay the price? There is no democratic accountability. The HSE is a bloated bureaucracy out of control with huge ongoing expenses but front-line services are being cut. I do not recall any Minister referring to €900 million worth of cutbacks during debates in the House. An out of date report was laid before us yesterday. It is disgraceful that there is such a lack of democratic accountability, discussion and serious consultation with the Opposition regarding how the economic crisis facing the country will be addressed and managed. Asking for co-operation in the context of such an approach is ridiculous.

A number of Senators commented yesterday on the Taoiseach seeking support from the social partners for some plan, the details of which are not clear to anyone. There was again no consultation with this House on the detail of the plan. Will the Leader outline when the plan, if it exists, will be put before the House? I am not sure people believe there is a plan, given that the information changes almost daily.

A few days ago, the Government announced a capitalisation plan for the banks. Yesterday, representatives of the banks appeared before a joint committee and gave a completely different story. Where is Government accountability? When will Ministers come before the House and detail how they intend to deal with the economic crisis?