Thomas Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

That is fine.

As I pointed out last year, the Appropriation Bill is effectively a cheque for €47.5 billion which we are being asked to sign today, just as the Dáil was obliged to sign it yesterday. In the past, however, debate was permitted on the Appropriation Bill, which is a practice that should be restored. It is a dereliction of our duty simply to sign a cheque for €47.5 billion without debate. I realise that the vast majority of the money has already been spent and there is little we can do about it. That is why the Fianna Fáil Party abstained last year when a vote was called by Sinn Féin.

That is the reason Fianna Fáil abstained last year when a vote was called by Sinn Féin. We did not wish either to endorse the Government's spending plans or to take the money back from the people who got it, which would be the effect of a "No" vote. However, it deserves far more scrutiny. The Seanad does not have a great deal of power over the spending of money, but the obligation on it to pass the Appropriation Bill provides us with an opportunity to have an influence on it for the benefit of society. On that basis, I oppose the Order of Business. There should be a formal debate. We will assess the position with regard to the Bill when that vote arises, but I am not inclined to oppose it. Unfortunately, however, I am not inclined to support it either. It is a difficult choice.

The Seanad should have a full debate on the National Asset Management Agency, NAMA, allegations. The Seanad has been central to the statements made, particularly by my colleague, Senator Darragh O'Brien, and, in the past, by Senator Mark Daly and Senator Lorraine Higgins. The allegations Senator Darragh O'Brien made yesterday are so serious that he went to the Garda fraud squad. They also involve a political question which he raised yesterday, so it would be appropriate to invite the Minister to the House to discuss the conduct of the Department of Finance and of NAMA. We should have a full debate on the issue rather than simply pass the buck to the Garda, which has a very important role. I compliment Senator Darragh O'Brien. He received some criticism to the effect that he was just another politician grandstanding but, unlike some politicians who have gone to the Garda in the past, he refused to be accompanied by photographers or the press. Such was the seriousness of his duty he was accompanied by his solicitor. That was the right approach and I compliment him on doing this properly and in the privacy of the Garda station. He did not go to his local Garda station with photographers but went straight to the fraud squad which has seisinof this matter.

The main issue that will affect the people of Ireland this Christmas is the HSE service plan. It is shameful that this fraudulent document is being presented to the Oireachtas immediately before Christmas and is to come into effect in January. It is the same on-the-hoof approach that the Government adopted with the health plan in the budget. The spin doctors have been busy portraying the reduction in the amount of money to be saved from medical card cuts as a huge victory, but the reality is that 100,000 people will lose their medical cards under the service plan. That is a shame and a disgrace. It is a shame that the Labour Party and Fine Gael are vying to claim the credit for that cut.