I join with Senator Whelan's call for a debate on the state of our health service. Many of us, in particular myself, have been critical of what I describe as a headless chicken approach. The Minister for Health pontificates on a regular basis about the strategic approach he is taking and promised free GP care would be rolled out by the last quarter of 2012 at the latest. We have heard much about universal health care. We have a manifesto and a programme for Government which pronounced the importance of keeping people in their homes yet we proceed to cut home help hours, thus increasing pressure on acute hospitals which are already running over budget. Senator Whelan mentioned some of that.

We have a hospitals capital programme that appears to follow the geographic trail of the Cabinet table rather than taking a strategic approach to the selection processes, as we have seen in Wexford and Kilkenny, and also the primary care centres. That is before we even get into the pre-election porky pies which Senator Kelly and I know all about in the context of cancer services in Sligo hospital or accident and emergency services in Roscommon hospital.

With regard to a chief executive officer of an interim health service indicating he has not been lobbied by any Government Minister, I would submit he was told, "This is what you are doing" because while not wishing to impugn that particular individual's character or professionalism, he did not apply for that job, was not interviewed for that job but was simply put into it by the Minister of the day, which is wrong. I agree with Senator Whelan that we need to have a debate here. We must begin to take a strategic approach and not the old Cabinet cronyism approach, and certainly not the headless chicken approach we have seen taken by the Minister, Deputy Reilly, so far.

Following the public consultation in this House on the issue of cancer, which was important and successful, the Leas-Chathaoirleach as we speak is launching a report that states that changes in lifestyle can prevent up to one third of cancers. It is important that we acknowledge that. The public consultation was a good day's work for this House and we have seen the fruits of it today. It would be worthwhile debating the report here at an early date if that were possible. It is important to acknowledge how it has been received when one considers that John McCormack, the chief executive officer of the Irish Cancer Society, and a former colleague and Senator who is head of advocacy, Kathleen O'Meara, are here for that launch.

Along with other Members I support the call for a Government apology for those who were institutionalised in the Magdalen laundries.

I support Senator John Whelan's call for a debate on the future of our health service, which appears to be semi-privatised as we speak when we consider the following: closure of public nursing homes and the supporting of private nursing homes; the Health Service Executive paying €25 per hour to private operators to provide home help hours when they will not pay €12 an hour to its own employees; and, as Senator Whelan mentioned, the €1,900 it costs for an ambulance to bring somebody to Dublin, which probably equates to a week's salary for three paramedics. It is simply not justifiable.

I spoke to a woman recently who told me that she had a hysterectomy in a private hospital in Galway. She spent three nights in the hospital and received fantastic care but for the bed alone she was charged €20,000.

Good God.

That is not possible.

It is.

It is unbelievable. The end result is that the ordinary Joe Soap with private health insurance will pay for the health service in the future. We need to address that, and that is the reason we must have a debate on it in this House.

I call on the Leader to see if we can get clarity from the Minister for Health on what we are doing about the mobility allowance. The Ombudsman found we were illegally ensuring that people over the age of 66 who were the most in need of the allowance were being deprived of it by virtue of their age. I would appreciate it if the Leader could have that question put to the Minister, Deputy Reilly, and perhaps at some stage in the future when he comes into the House he might have answers for us on it.