David Cullinane (Sinn Fein)

I support the call by Senator Landy that the Minister for Health, Deputy Reilly, come in to discuss medical card renewal. We should be non-partisan on this because all of us made constructive proposals when the Minister for Health was here. The issue of medical card renewal is important. Senator Landy gave examples with which he dealt and we all could give examples of those who have waited months for their cards to be renewed.

The problem is that when the Minister was in this House, he informed us that the renewal time was on average two to three weeks. That is not our experience and that of many who are waiting for their cards to be renewed. Perhaps the Minister got incorrect information from an official. He should come back into this House to clarify the position because we all can offer examples. It is not good enough for the Minister to say, as Senator Landy said, "Give me the examples and I will sort them out." It is a systemic problem and it needs to be addressed. That is important. I support Senator Landy.

I also support the call for a debate on media standards here. The issue has been discussed in various different ways in this House over the course of recent weeks, but there were calls several months ago for this debate and then there was the Fr. Reynolds and "Prime Time Investigates" matter. I ask the Leader to provide time to discuss media standards here. Then we could have an opportunity to discuss the various related issues which arose in recent weeks.

My intention was to call for a debate on the retail sector in Ireland. That feeds into what has been asked for in terms of buying Irish and supporting Irish products. The retail sector has been devastated by what has happened in the economy. It is also planned, if we believe the Minister for Finance, that VAT will be increased by 2%. I spoke to many retailers in Waterford in recent days, many of whom work for less than the minimum wage simply to keep their shops open and to keep people in employment. Some of them work for nothing because they must pay the rates, the rent and keep people employed. If they were to give up and close their premises, they would see people lose their jobs and they would also not receive any benefits because they have been self-employed. They are caught in a poverty trap. Those retailers want to keep their businesses going but if the Government goes ahead with this 2% VAT increase, that will crucify many of them in Waterford and across the State. It is important for this House to have a debate on this. That is the Adjournment motion I put down which was ruled out of order and about which the Cathaoirleach stated that maybe a more substantive motion was necessary. I agree. I call on this House to have a full debate on the importance of the retail sector, the importance of supporting the retail sector and the positive impact that would have on the overall economy.