Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

-----before it starts mouthing off about what it will do. Sinn Féin has made out that consultants are being paid too much. We have a big challenge in this country with the recruitment of medical staff. One of the challenges we are going to have to face over the next four or five years is the appropriate remuneration for people who have worked to get to the grade they are in and who can provide the expertise that is required in areas like orthopaedics and ear, nose and throat. The whole transplant area is of particular concern. Approximately 150 kidney transplants are done in this country each year, whereas more than 300 such procedures are done annually in Norway, which has a similar population. The reason for this discrepancy is that we cannot get the consultants we require to provide the service we want to provide.

I want to speak about last week's incident when two Members of the Oireachtas were conveyed to Limerick Prison to avoid having to pay fines. It is important to outline for the public that the attachment of earnings legislation comes into place on 11 January next. The day when those who fail to pay the fines imposed on them for committing crimes are carted off to prison will be behind us from that date because the courts will have the power to make an order to have the payment come from the earnings of such people. This is a welcome development, particularly at a time when over 50% of those admitted to our prisons are admitted for non-payment of fines. Approximately 89,000 warrants are with the Garda to be executed for non-payment of fines. We should have implemented this significant change a long time ago. I am delighted this measure is coming into place on 11 January next. Members of the Oireachtas who want to break the law from now on have to realise that the fines imposed on them will be taken from their earnings. This will prevent the time of the Garda, the Prison Service and the Courts Service from being wasted as it was last week. It is a welcome development.