Darragh O'Brien (Fianna Fail)

I oppose the proposal to take No. 1 without debate. I do so on the basis that the Joint Committee on Investigations, Oversight and Petitions was set up prior to the decision of the people in the referendum to reject the proposed 30th amendment to the Constitution. As the Government's proposals were not acceptable to the public it is not acceptable that this committee should sit at all. It is a cross-over of the Committee of Public Accounts and a number of other committees. At the very least, this motion should be debated. Every Member should be aware of the terms of reference of the new committee and of what it will do. Will it be a toothless committee? I suggest that it will be. On that basis, I will oppose the proposal to take No. 1 without debate. We could afford some time next week to debate it. We should put aside an hour next week to look at this motion and discuss it.

I give a guarded welcome to the Government's eventual publication of the personal insolvency Bill, to deal with the mounting crisis in unsecured personal debt and mortgage debt. This is a substantial Bill and we will be looking at it in detail. The draft will have to go to committee and the Bill will be considered by the Houses but my main concern is that it leaves the power with the banks to make the final decision. It does not set up an independent statutory office, like the debt settlement agency Fianna Fáil proposed, to look at difficulties of mortgagee and the bank's position, and then rule on the debt. The Bill leaves it to the banks to play ball.

I put this reservation, particularly in light of Mr. Richard Edelman's trust barometer which was published this morning. It shows that only 9% of Irish people have any trust in the Irish banking system. The fundamental flaw in the legislation is that it is left to the bank to decide the amount of mortgage debt, if any, it will write down. That is not how we should go forward. I would like the Leader to outline the timeframe for the Bill.

Last week, the HSE published its 2012 service plan. There does not appear to be any proposal to debate this document in either House. I ask the Leader to set aside time next week to have a proper and full debate on the HSE service plan for 2012 and to cover a number of items across the sector. Concerns have been raised regarding the agreement of the Minister for Health to close up to 900 public nursing home beds. In this regard, the Minister has a conflict of interest. He should not be overseeing nursing home policy because of his own business interests in this area. At the very least this plan should be debated.

The plan was raised yesterday in the Dáil in the context of the number of midwives in Limerick who will shortly retire. In the Rotunda Hospital, Dublin, 11 midwives will retire and eight will retire in the National Maternity Hospital, Holles Street, a short walk from Leinster House. What plans has the Government put in place to fill those vacancies? We were told the Government would do as much as possible to protect front-line services. I have genuine concerns in this regard. Two of the most important maternity hospitals in this city will be down 19 midwives between them. Does the Minister for Health have any plans to sanction the filling of those posts?

The Minister for Education and Skills has allowed retiring teachers to come back to finish the examination year. That makes sense. We are talking about the birth of children and about losing people with vast experience in the Rotunda and Holles Street hospitals. I am sure the Government will not turn a blind eye to this problem. What plans has it in place to fill those vacancies?