Lisa McDonald (Fianna Fail)

I too welcome the decision to retain the 24-hour air-sea rescue service in the south east. The whole incident was a public relations disaster. I am not sure what decision, if any, was made initially but it has worked out to our benefit. We will now have a faster service in the south east and on the entire island owing to improved technology and the provision of more helicopters. It is to be hoped more lives will be saved. It is a good news story.

There has been much comment today, rightly so, about our realisation yesterday of the extent of the banking crisis, which is an appalling vista. I have the utmost trust in the sincerity of the Minister for Finance, Deputy Brian Lenihan, who shows energy, enthusiasm and a commitment to get the country out of the crisis. Apart from the treatment of Anglo Irish Bank which does not sit comfortably with me, he is going about it in the right way.

The headline in the Irish Daily Star this morning was, "They deserve to be shot". This resulted in an inundation of text messages to radio stations agreeing with the sentiment expressed. Even though it is a stark headline, it has tapped into the strong feelings of the public on social justice. The people are so angry they want to see heads roll. They want to see people being jailed, as Bernie Madoff was in the USA for 150 years. This symbolised that the federal government was on the side of the people and that the perpetrators were going to pay. Taxpayers are upset at having to pay for the crisis. As a parent, I do not want to see my children paying the price for today's decisions in 25 or 30 years' time - I am sure those other Senators who are parents feel the same - however, they will have to do so. If we were to see heads roll - if we were to see the people who got us into this mess being thrown into jail without mercy - people would start to believe at least that the law was on their side, but we are not seeing this. Personal debt collection is an absolute joke. People come to ask me what they can do about their debts, but they see builders going around in their SUVs and with their palatial homes and swimming pools and nothing can be done about it. That is the next move that must be made. It is not an issue for the Minister for Finance; it is more in the realm of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform.

I call for a debate on the reconfiguration of hospitals in the south east. I must be honest and admit I was appalled by the statement of the Minister for Health and Children on "The Frontline" the other night that the decision would not be political but would be made by clinicians. The Minister needs to realise that the issue of accident and emergency and maternity units in counties is very much political. We need a debate in the Seanad to get the message through that it must not be a clinical decision. Politicians obtain and retain services in their counties. That is what we are about and the Minister must be told this. We need a debate on the issue.