Ivor Callely (Independent)

Like my colleagues, I warmly welcome the developments over the past 24 hours on the publication of the Saville report on Bloody Sunday. As most have said, at last we now seem to have the truth and acknowledgement of actual events by the most senior officials. Like others, I can remember those events. I was at that stage a young person who could be easily influenced, I suppose, by what I was witnessing in my country and the emotion that went with it, and was happy to lend my solidarity to go on the protest march here in Merrion Square and participate in the events that happened at the embassy at that time. I would like to think we would have a long and fulsome debate on the report and I will look to the Leader to give details of when he intends to take that debate and what length of time he will give to it.

Will the Leader indicate where one may source the required information to participate fully in debate because I am somewhat perturbed about the health debate today. I am not happy with the briefing documents that have been made available and I am not too sure what briefing documents have been made available by the HSE or the DOHC other than the briefing documents available from the Leader's office. Yesterday, I raised the issue of the need for a paediatric immunologist and the fact there is not one in Ireland. Today, I read in the newspapers that there are over 120 posts vacant in hospitals which will bring some of them to closure. Surely if we are to have a health debate we should have this type of information available to us, either from the HSE or the DOHC, so can make a meaningful contribution to the debate. I ask the Leader to respond.