Frank Feighan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I read with interest last week the proposals of the steering group on trauma care to scale back some of the accident and emergency departments. I very much welcome a debate on all aspects of this in the Chamber. I would prefer to bring all the stakeholders as well as politicians around. I saw five years ago the heat generated by such a proposal in Roscommon. Nobody wanted to listen to expert opinions or even the consultants. It got to such a stage that nobody wanted to listen. We need a very careful and rational debate. Before we run for the barricades, we need to look at Roscommon. I am not saying that what is happening around the country is right, but we do need to look at what has happened in Roscommon. The hospital is much safer and busier. Dozens of lives have been saved. Now, five years later, I can see that had the situation been different we could have worked together. I welcome the debate. It is absolutely right to raise this today. I hope the report will be published soon.

Senator Conway-Walsh is absolutely right. I was horrified to see images of what was happening in the North last night, with not only the Irish Tricolour but election posters of members of Sinn Féin and Independents burning on the bonfires. It would be wrong if this were to go unnoticed in this House. Some of those involved are community groups that get funding from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and others. This is incitement to hatred. We need to bring the relevant Minister to the House, as I really think it should be raised. If it happened in any other country, any other part of the United Kingdom, or elsewhere in Ireland, we would all be up in arms. I am not afraid to raise these very important issues. I agree absolutely with Senator Conway-Walsh.