John Paul Phelan (Fine Gael)

I join Senator Fitzgerald in calling for a debate today on the figures seen by the Opposition parties yesterday. I supported the idea of a consensus, involving the Opposition parties in getting their hands on the fine details from the Department of Finance. The figure of €3 billion in cuts came from the Government which has projected that the overall figure will be between €7.5 billion and €8 billion. We have been told today that it was suddenly learned over the weekend that the figure could be anything up to €15 billion. Was the Government deliberately hiding these figures? Were we to be given the figures at some stage in the future? We should have a discussion about them and the discussion should not take the form of a blame game, as somebody suggested. We need to know what the exact figures are and from where we are working. In advance of the budget we need to get a handle on the projected economic growth figure for 2011. The Government is projecting one figure, while the ESRI is projecting something else. It is obvious that the figure will have a significant impact when it comes to putting a budget together.

I agree completely with the point Senator Norris made about the national children's hospital. Like Senator O'Donovan and others, I have met the parents of children who have used the facility during the years. To a man and a woman, they all oppose the siting of the hospital at the Mater Hospital site. They are concerned about the various space and access difficulties associated with it, for example, with regard to car parking. We should have a full discussion on the matter as soon as possible.