Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail)

Today we published the Family Home Bill 2011 which will be taken in the Seanad during Private Members' time on 27 July. It includes some radical proposals to protect families and prevent them from losing their homes. It has been brought forward in the context of the crisis Ireland is facing and informed by two years' work, debate in the Houses, the work of the Prevention of Family Home Repossession group, of which I am a founder, the New Beginning group and others. It is radical and will be controversial for some, but there is no reason every Member should not support it. We are not saying the Bill has been brought forward to embarrass the Government; far from it. It can be its finest hour if it embraces the good will on this side of the House in bringing forward these proposals and the ultimate improvements it would bring in protecting the family home. I have said before that there can be no more important consideration for society than the protection of the family. For this reason, the radical and fair proposals made in the Bill require, if not demand, the support of every Member. On Committee Stage, assuming we all support the Bill on Second Stage on 27 July, I have no doubt further improvements could be made to it. I hope this Seanad which all of us said we hoped would be the best if it had to be the last can take a giant leap forward and bring forward what would be a most historic Bill aimed at the protection of the family home.

I would wholeheartedly welcome an opportunity for the Minister of Health to come to the House. I know he is very busy and trying his best. However, I have grave concerns about commitments given in the heat of political debate during election campaigns. There are recordings of all of the leaders in the Government speaking about cancer services in Sligo General Hospital and other services in Roscommon County Hospital and other hospitals across the country. It is clear that the configuration of hospital and medical services must be examined. I have seen no cohesive strategy from anybody for what is proposed north of a line from Dublin to Galway, but we have reports on cardiac catheterisation, trauma and cancer services that involve centralisation andeffectively ignore people north of that line.