Frances Fitzgerald (Fine Gael)

It was not good enough to have the general debate we had this week. Yesterday's display by the Minister for Transport, Deputy Noel Dempsey, and other Ministers, in dealing with the debate in the Dáil was appalling. They did not come with any detailed plans from their Departments or detail how they intended to handle the crisis. They did not speak on priorities or cutbacks and where they would take place. No details were given to either the Dáil or the Seanad in the debates on the economy.

The lack of accountability to the Dáil and the Seanad was extraordinary. It marked a turning point, one which must be taken seriously. The Government must examine the matter in detail and put democracy and accountability back into the process. Accountability has been missing from the public finances over the past ten years and that is why there has been so much waste. If we are to use this crisis as an opportunity, the least we must do is learn the lessons of the past and change the way we prepare our budgets and give account to the Oireachtas. This week's events gave us a bird's eye view of arrogance and lack of accountability and I suggest the Green Party and Fianna Fáil should examine how they dealt with the return of these Houses because their approach is not acceptable in any country that calls itself a democracy.

I support the calls which were made yesterday by several Senators on the Government side for a debate on child protection. A number of cases were reported in today's newspapers which involved inconsistency and, indeed, mistakes in sentencing. It is clear that debate is needed in this House on these matters. We are awaiting a new report from the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse, which received an extension to its deadline, on historic abuse over the past five decades. However, while we thought abuse was an historic issue, we can see from recent cases that our society still has a lot to learn about child protection and putting in place services that ensure we are fully protecting children. I ask the Leader to arrange a debate on these issues at the earliest opportunity.