Liam Twomey (Fine Gael)

Tomorrow we will have a debate on the economic crisis. It is important that when the Minister comes to the House he gives us a clear statement of what is going on. This year is probably the worst ever in terms of how the country has been run. Economic crisis has been heaped on top of economic crisis. I ask that the Minister explain three simple things when he comes to the House tomorrow. He must detail the severity of the cuts we will see this year and next year. I ask him also to explain fully the status of the Croke Park agreement, as he made some comments about it this morning that would cause one to wonder whether he believes in it any more. He must also clearly define the role of the EU in finding our way out of this crisis. The complete collapse in consumer confidence that has occurred is due to fear about what might happen. When people feel the Minister is playing games with them and telling them this or that may happen, it only adds to the fear and confusion. There is a significant need for clarity and honesty from the Government in communicating with the people.

I ask for a debate with the Minister for Health and Children on the issue of junior doctors, which I have raised a number of times but which keeps cropping up and is becoming more severe by the day. Our hospitals are staffed, beneath consultant level, largely by doctors from non-EU countries. There is a serious crisis with regard to the number of doctors, the quality of their training and their English language skills. The best the Minister can do is to say there is a problem and we have a shortage of doctors. Yet she has been in that Department for the last six years - the same time it takes to train a doctor - and she does not seem to have done much about it, apart from publishing reports. The crisis is on her doorstep and she should be dealing with it.