David Cullinane (Sinn Fein)

I had a conversation with the Leader of the House before this meeting and I was asked to raise it here. I look forward to a response from the Leader of the House.

I wish to raise the issue of the State potentially having to bail out the credit unions to the tune of €500 million. There are reports that household debt is at 190%. The country faces significant problems with the financial institutions. I put it to the Minister of State at the Department of Finance when we discussed the Finance Bill that we needed to burn the senior bondholders in Anglo Irish Bank and I welcome the fact that some move has been made, but many of us see that as too little, too late. There is the potential of a second financial tsunami heading towards this country if we do not take corrective action on the banks, credit unions and personal debt. The reason credit unions may need to be bailed out is because many people are defaulting on loans because their take home pay has been reduced as a result of the measures that have been put in place in recent budgets. This goes to show that policies such as pay cuts and other charges do not work. The Legislature has been accused of being asleep at the wheel when the financial tsunami struck. Let us not be accused of being asleep at the wheel if a second financial tsunami is heading towards us. It is very important that the Minister for Finance would come to the House to debate this with Members. It is also important that we scrutinise, question and probe to ensure we make the best decisions in the interests of the State. That is the question I put to the Leader. It is very important we do not repeat the mistakes of the past and sleepwalk into a second disaster.

I wish to raise the potential shortage of junior hospital doctors and its impact on local and regional hospitals, including the hospitals in County Waterford. There is a very real risk that some accident and emergency departments and hospital theatres will close because of a serious shortage of junior hospital doctors. I ask that the Minister for Health come to the Seanad to discuss the plethora of health issues that have been raised continually in the Chamber.

I wish to raise questions on the independent report on JLCs. On Tuesday, I asked the Leader to indicate when that will happen but his response was that no decision had been made by Cabinet. I hope that does not mean we will debate the issue when decisions have been made. It is important that Members of the Seanad have an opportunity to discuss the matter before the Cabinet-----