Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Senator Leyden, the acting leader of the Opposition this afternoon, raised a number of parochial items relating to Roscommon. I remind him that, as he well knows, the hours of opening of the Garda headquarters is a matter for the Garda Commissioner. He also inquired about the agricultural offices in Roscommon.

I will inquire of the Minister but if the Senator put that down as an Adjournment matter, he would get the exact answer he is seeking.

Senator Bacik asked about Guthrie cards, which have been mentioned on the Order of Business on several occasions. I agree there is a need for the HSE to inform parents of their rights. I will bring the matter to the attention of the Minister and will try to secure more information for parents and the public.

Senator Mullen called for a debate on surrogacy and the recent court case. The judgment is ground-breaking and the wisest counsel at this stage is to study it carefully and reflect on its implications. The Minister for Justice and Equality is preparing a new Bill that will address certain aspects of the law on surrogacy and hopes to publish the family relationships and children Bill later this year.

Senator Mullins raised the comments made by Ms Louise Phelan, the CEO of PayPal, about the attitude of some of our young people. We will have a debate on the jobs action plan in the near future and he can address those remarks to the Minister then.

Senator O'Donovan asked about the cable car to Dursey Island. Fewer than ten people live on the island but the cable car is of paramount importance for those people. The Senator mentioned to me that he would table this as an Adjournment matter if we did not get a proper reply from the Minister so I will ask the Minister to take that matter if we cannot elicit sufficient information.

Senator Moran raised the conditions in the children's hospital, particularly the lack of space and facilities for both children and parents. The Minister and everyone else would agree there is a need to maintain good standards in all children's hospitals until the new children's hospital is built. I will relay her comments to the Minister.

Senator Barrett asked about the CAO and said it is an equitable system. We should have a debate on it soon so we can discuss the recent proposals with the Minister.

Senator Paul Coghlan raised the property tax, and a number of other questions were asked about it. Fianna Fáil is cynically hypocritical on this issue. Its deceitful approach to the property tax is that when in government, before the arrival of the troika, in its national recovery plan, published in November 2010, it planned to introduce a property tax in 2012 and to raise ¤530 million from it in 2013.