Frances Fitzgerald (Fine Gael)

The Wildlife (Amendment) Bill will be brought before the House this week. Every Senator is conscious of the cutbacks we have seen imposed in recent years. We have the parents and families of children protesting at the gates of Leinster House today because of the cutbacks to services for the intellectually disabled. A mother has told me about the respite care service that has been cut. Another has told me about the number of staff being cut back and the way the service to her child will be reduced as a result. There has been a range of cutbacks in the health service. We have seen medical card withdrawals and cutbacks to services for persons with special educational needs. Some €22 billion has been given to a dead bank and our children are carrying on their shoulders the debt resulting from that decision. None of these issues has caused a Government Deputy or Senator to question his or her support for the Government to any degree, yet there is a crisis of conscience in regard to the legislation that will be brought before the House tomorrow. The Wildlife (Amendment) Bill has been met by much criticism from Fianna Fáil Deputies and Senators. Seven Fianna Fáil Deputies stood up in the Dáil to express their strong opposition to its provisions. Two Independent Deputies have said they will not support the legislation. Senator O'Donovan has outlined his views on other legislation.

I have a number of questions for the Leader. Does he support the legislation being championed by the Green Party? Does he expect Senators on his side of the House to support it? Is he willing to allow more of his colleagues lose the party Whip, as the Green Party insists on progressing its agenda? Why is so much time being spent on this legislation when we have critical issues affecting citizens that I have outlined day in, day out which are exemplified more than anything else by the protests outside the gates of Leinster House at the cutbacks to services for persons with special needs? We need to hear from the Government parties on the critical issues affecting every citizen.

On the day after the murders of two people in Clondalkin in Mafia-style hits, what is the Government doing to tackle gangland activity? We were told by a previous Minister that we were seeing the last sting of a dying wasp and heard from another that the legislation that would make a difference was in place. I propose an amendment to the Order of Business that the Minister for Justice and Law Reform come to the House to address the issues which led to the latest gangland killings on the streets of our capital city last night.