Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)

It is imperative that the Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children, Deputy Moloney, be invited to the House. The maltreatment of the elderly and disabled reflects very badly not only on Irish society but also on the Government, which has failed to legislate. I disagree fundamentally with Senator Ormonde because, in spite of our having had 12 years of almost one-party Government, there has been no legislation and no movement towards establishing an independent inspectorate. We need no more rhetoric or words, rather, we should look into our hearts, as Senator Bradford urged, to ascertain how we value the elderly and disabled. If we regard them solely as figures or numbers in nursing homes or residential treatment centres, shame on us.

Will the Leader arrange a debate as a matter of urgency on reducing speed limits and the setting of speed limits? I am not sure whether Dublin City Council is right or wrong regarding lowering the speed limit in the city of Dublin but I am sure that many speed limits in rural and urban areas are very inappropriate.