Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I agree with Senator Terry Brennan that there has been a lot of muscle-flexing by unions with regard to strikes. It is a pity that the very precarious position of the economy and the slim chance of recovery is being put at risk because of people trying to extract more from what is not there. Trade unions should be thinking about the people who are unemployed. Without the job creation that is essential, those people's lives will not be restored to what they were in the past. I would like to think that the unions will act more responsibly than they are speaking.

I agree with the point made by Senator O'Neill. I also met people at polling stations who had been on the electoral register all of their lives who turned up to vote but found that their names had been removed from the register. There must be a better way of maintaining the electoral register. In the context of the enormous percentage of people who do not even bother to vote, it is a real pity that those who make the effort are deprived of the opportunity to cast their vote. In many cases, such people are known to the presiding officers. If there are errors in the register, we must find a way to ensure that they can be rectified on polling day, if necessary.

I support the calls by my colleagues for the Minister for Health to come to the House to provide clarification. The Minister commented yesterday to the effect that there were no reports recommending the closure or reconfiguration of maternity hospitals but we have seen the report which refers to reconfiguring maternity services and the option of closing maternity units in Portiuncula Hospital and in the relevant hospitals in counties Mayo and Sligo. We know that no decision has been made but the Minister said, in regard to the reports, that they were "unsubstantiated" and "politically motivated".