Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I do not want to let the opportunity go without thanking the Minister for her very productive engagement. It bodes well for us. We, on this side of the House, thank her and acknowledge and echo what she said about the people on the front line of the health service whom the Minister is dealing with and witnessing every day, who are doing important work. We must acknowledge that as it is very important.

The level, depth and sincerity of the Minister's engagement and her openness to engage are something we do not see every day in the Seanad. I have been here for ten years. I acknowledge that because it is important. As a result, there was a relatively smooth transition and ten Stages of a Bill were dealt with in a very short time. I again thank the Minister. She is a very busy person - we are busy too – but she extended the time for the debate and we were able to complete it today. On behalf of everyone in the House, I sincerely thank her for the type of engagement we had and for the intelligent responses she gave. She did not come in and read scripts; she really engaged and got a sense of what people in this House were saying. I acknowledge that.