I would welcome it if the Minister for Health was to come into the House and outline the circumstances in regard to the extensions to the hospitals in Wexford and Kilkenny. There seems to be a certain amount of begrudgery about the projects in both those hospitals. I want to put on record that the proposal to extend the emergency department in Wexford General Hospital dates back to 2005. The hospital opened in the early 1990s and it is now 2013. The construction work is ongoing and on completion of it the opening date will be in 2014, almost 25 years after the extension was proposed.

For too long counties like Wexford were completely ignored by previous Administrations. I do not attach my name to chicanery of any nature but Wexford General Hospital got no more and no less than that to which it was entitled. The emergency department was operating out of a converted pharmacy in one of the largest counties in the country with a population of 150,000 people. I have had the misfortune to be there on numerous occasions going back to my days playing football and when family members have been ill. I have seen people in corridors passing away. If Fianna Fáil wants to stick a corruption tag onto the appropriate development of-----

We want explanations - that is all.

-----the emergency department in Wexford General Hospital, it can do so, but I do not hear the Deputies or Senators representing Wexford saying anything about it-----

So?

-----nor do I hear any Member representing Kilkenny saying anything about it.

So?

There was no corruption attached to this announcement or to the correct development of the extension to Wexford General Hospital. I want to put that on the record. I would welcome it if it could be arranged for the Minister for Health to come into the House to give a full explanation of this-----

That is all we are looking for.

-----as he did in the Dáil Chamber yesterday.

I want to take this opportunity to raise the issue of the discussions the Government is having with the troika on the promissory note for the IBRC and to request that the Leader invite Christine Lagarde, the former French finance Minister, to address the Seanad.

The CPP would make a decision on that so the Senator could take that up with the Leader.

I want to put it on the record and I will write to the CPP. Christine Lagarde is the head of the IMF. If she were to address this Chamber, it would be a fantastic opportunity to listen to her views on the discussions that are ongoing. Prior to the troika coming to town we were told that the IMF was the worst of the worst but amazingly we are finding that the ECB tends to be the worst of the worst. We are being told at any rate-----

The Senator is over his time.

I apologise for that.

I call Senator Harte.

I am just finishing. We are being told that the IMF is giving us the most support on an appropriate deal on the promissory notes in the interests of the citizens of this country.