Paddy Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Deputy Bruton to the House. I also welcome a group from Castlebar.

I raise the issue of providing an extra respite bed at the Sacred Heart Hospital in Castlebar. There is only one respite bed in the hospital and there is huge demand for respite. We all know the great work that carers carry out. When a respite appointment is cancelled it causes huge disappointment for the people who were going to get a break to find out they will not get one. I ask that we invite the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, to the House for a debate on the provision of respite beds throughout the country, particularly in Castlebar. The hospital has the beds in place but does not have sufficient funding and will require extra funding for an extra bed. That would be a great service to Castlebar, its hinterland and County Mayo as a whole.

I also raise the cloning of phones. Recently, I have received a number of calls from people who say they are getting phone calls but when they return the call, the person on the other end says they had not rung. I have received one or two of these myself. I wonder about the whole area of the cloning of phones. Who does it? There is no record of who rang in the first place but someone is using some carrier and someone else's number to call someone else. It could be a dangerous set-up – I do not know – and I ask that the Government look into this issue of the cloning of phones to see who is responsible and what are the consequences.