Ivana Bacik (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Like Senator MacSharry, I welcome the outcome of the US election. No doubt the result is a great relief to the many supporters of the Democratic Party in Ireland. Studies have shown that very few people in Ireland would have supported Mitt Romney if they had been entitled to vote. It is good to see President Barack Obama re-elected for a further four-year term.

I agree with Senator MacSharry that it would be helpful to have a debate on the issue of home help services in the near future in order to clarify the position. There is no doubt people are very concerned about the reports, and it would be useful to have the Minister come to the House to debate the issue.

On a further health-related issue, I welcome the announcement of the site for the national children's hospital. This deserves a great deal of cross-party support. It is good to see people uniting behind the decision and it is important that a decision has now been made and that the building can proceed. It is good that the site chosen will mean the children's hospital is co-located with an acute hospital and also adjacent to a maternity hospital.

I held the view that the Coombe hospital would have been a suitable location. I am glad to see that the chosen hospital site will be close to the Coombe, a well established maternity hospital, and that it will be adjacent to St. James's Hospital.

I welcome the announcement that the constitutional convention will hold its first meeting on Saturday, 1 December at Dublin Castle and that Mr. Tom Arnold has been appointed chairperson. The convention will have an exciting 12-month term. It is worth noting that this is the first attempt by any government in the history of the State to establish a convention of this nature which will consist of a majority of citizens. It has been given a very tight timeframe in which to report on a range of specific issues. It may also report on other issues that it considers relevant. I look forward to being a member of the convention and to working with the people who have been chosen to participate.

Senator MacSharry referred to newspaper reports on family planning clinics. For a long time there has been much concern about rogue family planning agencies that operate in a directive manner and hold a particular viewpoint. If a review of family planning clinics is carried out then it is important that clinics and centres that call themselves pregnancy advisory or pregnancy counselling services should be reviewed generally by the Minister for Health and the HSE.