Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

-----and let them at it. As my colleague Senator Darragh O'Brien correctly pointed out, if we are prepared to do the deal at a knock-down price for some unknown vulture fund in Invercockaleekie, why can we not do the same for the borrowers themselves? Why can we not offer them 50% write-downs and keep them in their homes or family farms where they belong rather than throwing them to the wolves?

On another issue that has been mentioned by Senator Colm Burke - that the IMO will be in town today to give us some advice on free GP care for children under six, the contract which it described as unworkable in its entirety - there is one minor point I want to bring to the House's attention. Despite the fact that the new contract is completely unworkable, it includes a clause which states that service providers - that is, GPs - will not do anything to prejudice the name or reputation of the HSE.