Rónán Mullen (Independent)

I am asking seriously for a debate on the media in which we will not be hearing just rants about the media, but also constructive thoughts about how we can get the right balance between media freedom on the one hand and the right of all members of the public, including people in public life, to good standards on the other.

On a number of occasions in the past year I have raised not only the good work being done by hospitals but also the good work being done by the Irish Hospice Foundation. It has a particular programme for hospice-friendly hospitals. It has raised the important matter of how we get our hospitals up to the standards they should attain particularly regarding end of life care. I am talking about facilities for people who are terminally ill to be able to settle sensitive matters with their families or facilities to allow people to stay over in hospital with people for whom they are caring. There can be insensitive treatment of people in our hospitals simply because the facilities are not there and good practice has not been established as a norm. Our hospitals should be run like hotels in terms of the quality of service given to people at every level including food and beverages, medical care and the space and quality of facilities afforded to loved ones.

I would like a debate on the quality of our hospitals. I know it is not an easy time to talk about major capital investment in our hospital care, but if we are serious about promoting good health in our society and helping people to get well we must provide them with an environment conducive to good health care. I would like a debate about the hospice-friendly hospitals of the Irish Hospice Foundation and the agenda of quality health care generally.

I also concur with what has been said about the air traffic controllers strike. Senator Quinn rightly mentioned the response of President Reagan in 1981, which was seen as a drastic response at the time. However, we should be asking where is the patriotism of people who at a time of crisis take such a step with the impact it has on our reputation abroad and the major inconvenience caused to our citizens. I accept great and sensitive work is done by our air traffic controllers, but they are certainly not at the rough end when it comes to remuneration. It is a shame that this has happened and it calls into question people's awareness of the serious crisis this country faces. It is beyond me that they could contemplate such an action.

I wish to mention overseas aid as mentioned by Senator Bacik. The crisis in Haiti has concentrated our minds on the importance of solidarity with people in less fortunate parts of the world, particularly parts of the world that are prone to natural disasters. I had the honour of hosting the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church, Dr. Stafford Carson, this afternoon. He had met the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Power. I heard about the great work and fundraising being done within the Presbyterian community supporting Irish efforts abroad. To use a word beloved of the Taoiseach, it is vital that our State continues to provide aid commensurate with the Irish people's commitment to the developing world and in particular to people in crisis. I certainly hope that this is the year in which we get back on track towards reaching our commitment of 0.7% of GDP in terms of overseas development aid, because we have lost ground in this regard and I hope that situation will be reversed.