Catherine Noone (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I join the Cathaoirleach in expressing my sadness at events in Notre-Dame. What we saw last night in Paris was surreal. There was some talk about how good it was that nobody died, but to me the 800 years of history and beauty and the sheer human skill that went into creating that iconic beauty means that this is a very sad event for Paris, and for anyone who has been lucky enough to be in Paris to visit what was and will be again a very beautiful cultural institution. Senator Ardagh, among others, raised that issue.

The VHI and the cancer drug issue is certainly of concern, but it is important to point out that when it comes to the availability and the use of medicines in public hospitals, there is no distinction between public and private patients. The system in operation in public hospitals run by the HSE ensures that a situation can never arise where a private patient gets a drug that a public patient would not get. This has come about as a result of the VHI's policy on private patients, which is small comfort to those who would like access to the drug, or indeed those whose lives depend on receiving that drug. I assume that the system, which I believe is flawed in many ways in terms of how it reviews drugs to be funded, will review this drug for public patients. I am very strongly of the view that if a drug is available that can improve the lives of cancer patients, then it should be made available to all patients.

Many Senators raised the issue of the FAI and the fallout there has been in terms of corporate governance. As a lawyer it seems to me that there are very serious allegations about breaches of the Companies Act. Breaches of this kind occur very rarely.I imagine there will be continuing fallout from this. As Senator Ó Ríordáin said, one would be concerned about the effect on the ordinary player and it must be very disillusioning for small clubs around the country to watch this unfold. A natural progression would be a renewed focus on improving the game, from the point of view of funding and from a structural point of view in terms of how it is managed. Some questions Senators have raised are being answered. Senator Craughwell asked what stepping aside would mean. New terms are being brought into use each day regarding this fiasco. We need to watch and wait and ensure this does not happen again.