David Norris (Independent)

I am not going to go there because what I want to say is not at all frivolous. I know that expressions of sympathy are usually passed through the Committee on Procedure and Privileges but this is a general one with which everyone might agree. At the very least, we can express horror at the outrage that was committed in Bulgaria against a bus load of Israeli tourists. These were innocent victims. It was a slaughter of the innocents. Nobody knows what their political views were. I certainly do not. They may well have supported Palestinian rights, as many Israeli people do, but whether they did or not is no justification for killing them. Any of the organisations, whether Israeli-Jewish, like B'Tselem or others, who oppose Israeli policy in the settlements would not welcome this. It is appalling.

The final matter is the question of the tragic death of a young woman in Roscommon who was on her way to hospital in Galway. I have never been a hospital-candidate type of person and I have always supported rationalisation but I am appalled by the fact that somebody died on the way to hospital because the journey took so long. Could we have an investigation into this? Added to that is the fact that we were told that the air ambulance would be available. It should be located in Athlone but is in Casement Aerodrome. The reason given by the Army is that the noise would cause a nuisance but I believe that the level of nuisance caused when the use of the air ambulance is necessary would be tolerable if it saved a life.