Donie Cassidy (Fianna Fail)

Senators Regan and Mullen expressed their views on expenditure in the House. The Goodbody report carried out a root and branch review of the operations of expenses of Oireachtas Members and everything pertaining to them. That report was carried out independently, thoroughly and professionally. I hope the new Ceann Comhairle and commission will consider it and spare the taxpayer any more money in acting on what needs to be addressed on the matter.

It was always my understanding that if a Minister or Minister of State went abroad, there would be security matters in the jurisdiction they were in. The equivalent here would be the responsibility of the Garda Commissioner. There are places where Members would stay - be they three star or four star hotels - and whatever the security arrangements at airports, in taxis or elsewhere, they would be taken care of by secretaries in Departments and embassies. A very good job was always done in holding the decorum and prestige of the office. We Irish are as good as any other nation or member of the EU and we participate at the same level. We have shown Europe and the world how it is possible to maximise the benefit of being a full member of the European Union. The factors to which I refer should always be borne in mind.

Many Members have travelled to destinations around the world in order to represent the country and its Parliament and committees. They were never involved in making the arrangements for those trips and had no knowledge of the costs involved. There may be some way that, with the assistance of all Members, a new system in this regard might be arrived at. Regardless of when Members are presented with details of the cost of trips on which they have represented their country - this may happen one year or five years later - they are sometimes surprised by what was involved because the money was never deposited with them. No real benefit accrues to Members who are obliged to travel long distances to attend events and represent their country and its Parliament from making these trips.

I am quite familiar with the case to which Senators Cannon and Ó Murchú referred. I congratulate the family involved on its initiative in raising €300,000. The family is in an horrific position. The irony is that if the HSE purchased the apparatus to which Senator Cannon refers, it would not be necessary for VAT to be paid. Surely Professor Drumm should intervene on a once-off basis in this case and, without creating a precedent, accept the €300,000 raised by the family and use it to purchase the necessary equipment. The family has lost so much. I question the charging of €60,000 in VAT. I have no difficulty, if necessary, in going with the two Senators to meet the Minister for Health and Children later this afternoon to discover whether something might be done about this matter.