This morning I note the absence of many of the Labour Party Senators. Two are present - one has just arrived. The Deputy Leader is present. I wonder whether it has to do-----

I notice there are four Fianna Fáil Members present.

What happened this morning is that we have put it up to the Government to provide a quorum in this House. For eight minutes it looked like the Government was not in a position to provide a quorum and the Fianna Fáil Party and the Sinn Féin Party Members came into the Chamber at that stage to allow the Seanad conduct its business for the day. It speaks volumes about what we read in the newspapers today.

That is nonsense.

It speaks volumes about the choice the Labour Party in particular made between the Minister for Health, Deputy Reilly, and the former Minister of State, Deputy Shortall, in recent weeks. It also speaks volumes about the choices the Government, in particular the Labour Party, is making on health care. Serious questions have been raised as to whether the Minister for Health should have been involved in the Balbriggan decision. No one is questioning the right of a citizen to support a Minister, Deputy or other politician. That happens all over the country, but one must ask the question of whether a Minister in return or in any other fashion has made a decision which could be of benefit to a supporter. That is a fundamental question that must be raised. We have not got clarity from the Minister as to how a decision was made to put Swords and in particular Balbriggan, onto a list of primary health care centres. The former Minister of State, whom the Deputy Leader fully backed last week in this Chamber – she was right to do so – has raised serious questions about that process. She has said that answers have not been given by the Minister. The Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Joan Burton, has said further clarification must be given. The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Varadkar, stated the affair looked like stroke politics. The Minister of State, Deputy Creighton, suggested in the weekend newspapers that questions needed to be answered by the Minister, Deputy Reilly, on the decision.

We, as an Opposition, are asking the Government today to send the Minister of State, Deputy Alex White, to the House. I propose an amendment to the Order of Business that the Minister of State who has responsibility for primary care be brought to the House to explain the criteria for the selection of the 15 extra sites, in particular Swords and Balbriggan. If the Government side votes against that, it is voting against the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Burton; the former Minister of State, Deputy Shortall; the Minister of State, Deputy Creighton; the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Varadkar, and all the voices who are raising concerns about the decision, apart from the Opposition parties. They would be going against their own members.

That is rubbish.

That is not true.

That should be borne in mind because it raises the most fundamental questions as to what happened in Balbriggan. It gives some answers to what the former Minister of State, Deputy Shortall, was referring to in media interviews at the weekend and what sources close to her were revealing to the newspapers. Too much has gone on. Too much has been said and not said on the matter and we must have clear answers as to how the decisions were taken. We will not accept in particular from the Labour Party, the sort of guff that has come from the Government in the past week. The former Minister of State rode roughshod through that guff, as did the Ministers, Deputies Burton and Varadkar, and the Minister of State, Deputy Creighton. They do not believe it and neither do we. We need an explanation and the Minister of State, Deputy Alex White, is best placed to give the explanation. One presumes that on his appointment yesterday he went straight into the Department and found out what exactly happened. He should tell the Seanad today.

Another issue I wish to raise relates to consumer confidence, which was at a very high rate on the KCB survey in recent years in August. It shot down completely at the end of this month. That is an unfortunate and worrying situation. The reason given by all commentators is the fear of the budget and the kite flying that is going on by various Ministers. The Taoiseach, Deputy Kenny, asked his Ministers to take down their kites but they keep putting them up. My colleague, Senator Darragh O’Brien, raised the latest one yesterday, namely child benefit. It is frightening people all over the country. People are wondering whether they will be able to continue to pay for their children to go to crèches next year and perhaps they are pulling out already. Their confidence is shot and the upshot of it is that confidence in the domestic economy is shot because of the kite flying of Ministers. I appeal to them to take down their kites and to carry out a proper, serious budgetary process. They should not put the frighteners on the public because it is putting the frighteners on the economy.

It is interesting to hear Senator Byrne speak about guff since he is a master of the art of guff. I have made my comment on the record last week in this House on former Minister of State, Róisín Shortall. I stand over that. A number of other Labour Party Senators made comments in this House also. It is interesting that Senator Byrne chose to single out the Labour Party as if this was a single party Government, which clearly it is not. There are two parties in government. Fine Gael is the majority partner in the Government and it is a coalition that is working well. Clearly, Fianna Fáil sees the Labour Party as the real challenge, perhaps because the Labour Party took so many of Fianna Fáil’s votes in the previous election.

Borrowed.

To hear the Senator singling out the Labour Party for a particular attack is ironic.

One more member of the Labour Party is overboard. That is the trouble.

It is very hard to take an attack such as that from Senator Byrne.

Fianna Fáil tabled a motion of no confidence in the Minister for Health.