Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am only giving the correct response. Perhaps it is not the answer that people want to hear but that is the fact.

A number of Members have asked me to invite the Minister for Finance to come here to debate the banks and pensions.

Next week we will have statements on the economy which is a pre-budget debate. We have had several debates on the economy as requested by the House. The Minister of State, Deputy Brian Hayes, will be in the House next week to address the very important area of the budget. On 14 November the Fiscal Responsibility Bill will be before the House and will be taken by the Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, as well as the Credit Union Bill on 4 December. We will have ample opportunity with those three items to deal with banks, pensions and other areas of the economy on which Members have requested debates. We are providing sufficient time for these items to be discussed.

Senators Cullinane, Landy, Michael D?Arcy and others raised Professor John Higgins?s proposals for hospital groupings in the south east. I understand his reports are based on academic linkages. If they are based on those only, then I believe they are flawed. Clinical considerations and best outcomes for patients should have far greater weight than academic considerations. The south-east hospital network should not be broken up as it is working very well. I accept there is always room for improvement in achieving greater trust and better working arrangements between all the hospitals in the region. Accordingly, I hope hospital consultants in Kilkenny and Waterford hospitals will engage in meaningful negotiations in this regard. I reject Senator Michael D?Arcy?s comments on Waterford regional hospital. He would be well advised to read the KPMG Prospectus report which indicates that hospital is one of the best performing regional hospitals in the country.