Labhrás Ó Murchú (Fianna Fail)

I second the amendment to the Order of Business proposed by Senator David Norris. I would also like to take up the point about the session we had with the Taoiseach yesterday. I found the debate helpful and edifying in many ways. I compliment the Leader and all of the speakers on their contributions yesterday. Once again it showed that we can discuss and debate serious issues, such as our position in Europe, with less acrimony in the Chamber. There is always the possibility that the Taoiseach will have a Damascus-like conversion on his way to the referendum. I do not know if that will happen but his visit was good for the Seanad.

Senator Norris raised a legitimate point this morning about the young woman who died in Roscommon on her way to hospital. It is a reminder to us all that behind all of the statistics there are human stories, many of them tragic. Members need to know that her family spoke on the issue in the hope that it would never happen to anybody else. Most people in this country are committed to the rationalisation of the health system. Most people want centres of excellence because without them, many more people would die. The important part of Senator Norris's point is that we should examine the situation in the context that there are times, like the case in Roscommon, and even when there is a programme of rationalisation and new structures in place, that a different approach could be adopted on the spot in the hope that it might safe a life. That is the reason it was important to raise the matter here. Perhaps we could discuss such issues, although not specific cases, after the summer recess because I know of another case where a young person in Tipperary almost died. If the person had gone to where they were supposed to go in Waterford and had not gone to Clonmel, there is a good possibility that the young person would have died. In that case, a decision was made on the spot to ensure that did not happen. That is the atmosphere in which we should discuss a tragedy of this kind.