Liam Twomey (Fine Gael)

We hear much about the relevance of the Seanad. Despite the fact that thousands of children and adults have contracted swine flu and tens of thousands of those deemed to be at risk are being vaccinated against the condition, a debate on the issue has been pulled because three Ministers, none of whom is responsible for the Health Service Executive, are unable to make themselves available to the House. This pandemic is of a scale not experienced since the foundation of the State. The House makes itself irrelevant when it refuses to discuss major issues of public health.