John Gerard Hanafin (Fianna Fail)

I agree with the call for a debate on the Government's cardiovascular policy. We could do some good service in this area, for example by pointing out that more than 2,000 people die as a result of strokes in this country each year. Strokes are the biggest cause of acquired disability. We need a focused and cost-effective approach. The management of disability is very expensive. I look forward to the debate for which I am calling.

I support my colleagues who have called on Israel to adopt a humanitarian policy towards Gaza. There is no doubt that the current policy is affecting the relationship between Israel and people throughout the world who support Israel. It is particularly poignant that a country whose people have suffered so much is now, in effect, imprisoning 1.5 million people in a very confined space without access to adequate humanitarian aid.