Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Yes. Senator Reilly raised the lack of guidelines for solar farms. I will be happy to arrange a debate on that with the Minister. He rightly spoke about the growing issue we face with obesity given that almost one third of our young people are obese. It is a startling statistic. As he said, the knock-on diseases are beginning to come to the fore. I will be happy to invite the Minister to the House to discuss that.Senator Marie-Louise O'Donnell will appreciate that I do not have a magic wand. I have not been able to get an answer from the Minister's office as to whether he is available this evening but if the Senator will indulge me, I will endeavour to have him come to the House tomorrow or on Thursday. I have been in communication with the Senator since she first raised the matter in the House last week. I certainly want to see the report on community banking debated in this House and I gave the Senator a commitment to that effect. I cannot give a definitive answer with regard to the Minister's availability but if Senator O'Donnell indulges and trusts me, I will endeavour to secure the Minister's presence in the House later this week. Otherwise, I will have to oppose her proposed amendment to the Order of Business which I do not want to do because the request being made is reasonable.

I agree with Senator Devine that the number of assaults on staff working in hospitals is unacceptable. I worked in a hospital previously and have family members who are nurses and I agree that any attack is one too many. Senator Devine rightly drew attention to some of the dreadful injuries inflicted on nurses, care assistants and other members of hospital staff. The safety of all of those who work in our health system is of paramount importance. The Government is committed to recruiting additional nurses, care assistants and other front-line health service staff. Staff numbers are growing every year but the important point made by the Senator is that we must ensure that the physical safety of all staff is assured. The HSE has a duty of care to its staff and a responsibility to guarantee their safety in the workplace. A national health and safety strategy has been put in place by the HSE but we must continue to highlight this issue.

The issue of agency staff in our health system arises regularly in these Houses. It was raised at meetings of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health, of which I was once Chairman, and it has been raised by Senator Colm Burke in this House. The amount of money being spent on agency staff is frightening, especially in the context of the value for money that could be obtained if we invested that money in the retention and recruitment of permanent staff, which would be much better. We must accept that we will always have some agency staff in our health system but the growth in the numbers of such staff is not acceptable. I am happy to invite the Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, to the House to discuss that matter.

I join Senators Feighan and Wilson in congratulating Ms Arlene Foster for travelling to the Ulster football final at the weekend, which was a positive gesture. I heard what Senator Humphreys said but would argue that gestures are important. It would have been unthinkable 25 years ago for the leader of the DUP to travel to an Ulster football final and to sit with a Cabinet Minister and a Chief Whip to watch the game, so Ms Foster's gesture is positive in that regard. As Senators Humphreys and Feighan pointed out, it is absolutely imperative that the institutions in Stormont are back up and running as soon as possible. It is unacceptable that no responsibility is being taken by politicians in the North and that there is no direct rule at Stormont. It is incumbent upon Sinn Féin and the DUP in particular to re-engage in talks and to re-establish a power-sharing Government in Northern Ireland. I agree with the point made by Senator Feighan about the Commonwealth Games representing a missed opportunity.

Senator Humphreys also argued for a dedicated transport police and the point he made in that regard certainly has merit in the context of last week's report of increases in attacks on both commuters and public transport staff. The Senator called for a debate on the matter and I am happy to invite the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Ross, to the House for that. Senator Wilson seconded the proposed amendment by Senator Marie-Louise O'Donnell. As I have said, I will try to arrange for the Minister to come to the House tomorrow or on Thursday and ask that the amendment be withdrawn. If not, I will have to oppose it, which I am loath to do.