Frances Fitzgerald (Fine Gael)

I welcome the newest Member of this House, Senator James Carroll. This is a proud and memorable day for James, his family and his supporters as he is elected to the Seanad on the Administrative Panel. On behalf of all in the Fine Gael Seanad group, I extend to him our congratulations and best wishes and hope that he has a worthwhile time in this House in the future.

All three events yesterday raise questions about Government leadership, and this is a serious issue. The front pages of the newspapers illustrate in photographs the problem: people whose homes have been destroyed by floods, strikers outside our buildings and the queues going to Newry. There is a link between all three, and that link is about leadership. Let us take them one by one. Let us take the pre-emptive strike yesterday. We hear that the social partners are to have discussions today and I really hope they succeed. We also hear that there is another proposed strike next Thursday. This morning I spoke to a woman whose mother is due to have a serious operation next Thursday but she does not know whether it will go ahead. This is no way for us to be today. That woman should not have to worry about whether her mother will be operated on next Thursday, yet it is an example which shows that the workers who went out yesterday do not trust their interests will be looked after in this national emergency. They do not trust they will be more than a line in the budget. There is a crisis of leadership concerning public sector workers and how they feel about the Government. I propose an amendment to the Order of Business that the Seanad discuss the talks and the financial emergency facing the country, as well as the flooding.

What do the traffic queues into Newry tell us? They tell us that the Minister for Finance made a mistake on the issue of VAT.