John Kelly (Labour) | Oireachtas source

Along with other Members I support the call for a Government apology for those who were institutionalised in the Magdalen laundries.

I support Senator John Whelan's call for a debate on the future of our health service, which appears to be semi-privatised as we speak when we consider the following: closure of public nursing homes and the supporting of private nursing homes; the Health Service Executive paying ¤25 per hour to private operators to provide home help hours when they will not pay ¤12 an hour to its own employees; and, as Senator Whelan mentioned, the ¤1,900 it costs for an ambulance to bring somebody to Dublin, which probably equates to a week's salary for three paramedics. It is simply not justifiable.

I spoke to a woman recently who told me that she had a hysterectomy in a private hospital in Galway. She spent three nights in the hospital and received fantastic care but for the bed alone she was charged ¤20,000.