Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael)

I welcome the reports on the banking crisis. Why would we overly blame the Department of Finance for the lack of judgment shown by the Taoiseach when he was Minister for Finance? I welcome the fact that a debate will take place this evening when we will hear more about the issue. Let us not practice evasion to a fault.

I express my outrage at the baby scan debacle. I applaud the number of mothers who trusted their own judgment to realise they needed a second opinion. Ultimately, the HSE must be held accountable. We learned of one case in Galway in which a woman went to her general practitioner after a scan and discovered she was still pregnant.

What is the position on the roll-out of primary health care services, about which we have been hearing since the early 2000s and which was to result in the provision of good diagnostic equipment in local primary care outlets? I realise there is a health item on the agenda for tomorrow, but the Leader must obtain answers from the Minister for Health and Children on this issue.

I have told the Leader before that it is time we had a debate in the House on the type of education system we need to provide for equality of opportunity for all young people. In the past ten days I have heard that the Minister for Education and Skills is culling librarians in the most disadvantaged areas attached to the junior certificate school programme. As Senator Bacik asked, does the Minister have any clue who she is placing at a disadvantage? Those affected cannot read or write. Some 30% of the children in question are leaving primary school without literacy skills. They comprise the one in six who are leaving second level without completing the leaving certificate. I support Senator Bacik's request for a debate on early school leaving, for the report on which I was rapporteur. We need to provide for equality of opportunity for all children.