Gerard Craughwell (Independent)

Last week, the House debated a motion on head and neck cancer. Much of what was in that motion revolved around my daughter Rebecca's experience. Colleagues from within the House and the Government supported the motion. Somehow or other, however, a story seems to have developed around the House to the effect that my daughter is very unwell. She is not. Rebecca has a wonderful life when she is well, but like all cancer patients, when she is not well, she has a pretty miserable time. She has been in intensive care on a number of occasions when we nearly lost her but she has come back each time. The importance point here is that what we were looking for via the motion was a small amount of money to allow reconstructive work to take place in dental hospitals in Dublin, Galway and Cork. It was wonderful to have the support of colleagues here. I hope something happens.

Unlike any other sort of cancer, head and neck cancer disfigures your face. It leaves you with a permanent mark for the rest of your life. That mark is there for everybody to see. I recall being in a shop with Rebecca on one occasion. She was standing at the counter waiting to buy something and I was browsing and looking for something. The next thing I heard was the guy behind the counter saying to her, "Oh Christ, you're not one of them that cuts yourself are you?" Why did he ask that? It is because she has a scar under her neck. Rebecca, being a feisty woman, fairly explained to him what it was all about. I again thank colleagues. Senator Nelson Murray made a point about Simon Harris a few moments ago. We are great at cutting the backs off one another every now and then, but, by God, when we come together, we are a wonderful organisation. I will always be grateful for that.

There has been a lot of talk about the €1.49 billion that has gone into defence. We are a country roughly the same size as Finland. Our populations and economies are also roughly the same size. Finland is spending €6.7 billion on defence; we are spending €1.49 billion. We are coming into the Presidency of the EU. Michéal Martin has said we are going to have to call on European neighbours to help us to secure the country during our Presidency. For a proud, sovereign nation, that is totally unacceptable. We want to carve a route for ourselves. Many people talk about neutrality, but this country is actually militarily non-aligned. If we want to stay that way, we have to do something about it. I request that the Tánaiste come before the House - once he has survived the motion of no-confidence, which I have no doubt he will - for a debate on how we develop going forward. There are green shoots within the Defence Forces. Things are beginning to change. What we need to do is accelerate that as best we can. If the Leader could do something about that, I would appreciate it.