Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail)

With Senator Ivana Bacik, I welcome the announcement on the first 5,000 places on the internship programme, although it is regrettable the number is so small. A difficulty I have with it, one that is borne out by the Union of Students in Ireland, concerns the reason one must be three months unemployed before one can take up a place. Surely the object of this activity is to ensure people are not unemployed. If graduates are suitable for participation in an internship programme, surely they should be allowed to go straight onto it.

On another issue, that of health, I noted there was irritation in the House when some Members raised issues which might have been local, as far as other Members were concerned. Several of the pre-election commitments made by the Government parties that were unambiguous and clear are now not going to be honoured. Naturally, if this amounts to a neglect of a portion of the population, far from being a local issue, it is a national issue. It may be beyond the gin and tonic belt or the Pale or the concerns of the vast majority involved in the mainstream establishment media, but the issues raised are very real to those living in not as well populated parts of the country such as the west and north west. As regards the contributions yesterday of Senators John Kelly of the Labour Party and Terry Leyden, they are no less important or worthy of debate or consideration by the House than any that might concern those living in Dublin or any other part of the country.

I say to the Leader, for whom I have profound respect, that irrespective of whether he is committed to having a line Minister come to the House on a particular date, it is not within his sole and exclusive preserve to determine this. On an ongoing basis there are issues which demand agility and immediate movement by the Houses. It is because of its paralysis that this House and others have come under the scrutiny by those who wish to see it abolished. If other Members and I believe there is an issue to be raised, however parochial, that is of concern, by all means one should call for a debate on that day. Whether the Leader thinks one is listening is completely irrelevant. The people must be represented in the House. On a daily basis we must be prepared to seize the opportunity to represent them to the best of our ability.