I would like to propose an amendment to the Order of Business, calling on the Minister for Health to come to the House today to discuss the health service generally, the reform of the health service and the medical card eligibility scandal. People are having their medical cards taken from them for all sorts of reasons.

The reality is that this Government promised reform in the health service. It promised us the abolition of the HSE and free GP care for all, which is a bit of a sick joke when one considers that since it came into office, it has taken free GP care from people who already have it by taking their medical cards. The Government promised universal health insurance, yet that has not been delivered. Where is universal health insurance? It promised reform of mental health services and we have not seen that. All we have had from this Government in terms of health care is cutback after cutback. In the last budget, €750 million was taken from the health budget and we saw the consequences of that in hospitals throughout the country.

Over recent days, we have seen the most reprehensible and cruellest of all the cuts. This was taking medical cards from cancer patients. That is truly reprehensible. I dealt with 14 cases in Waterford involving people whose medical cards were taken off them. I am sure there are thousands of people throughout the State who are losing their medical cards, yet the Minister talks about free GP care for all when he is stripping people of their entitlements. All we are getting is cutback after cutback. Yes, the Minister will attend the House next week to discuss a very important Bill that I will support but I want the Minister to come in to discuss his failure in respect of the health service because that is what it is. He talked tough and promised a lot, but he simply has not delivered. Those cuts are having a very serious impact on families, individuals and patients across the State and we need the Minister to come to the House to account for his failures in the health service.

I remind the Leader of the concern many people have about the future of the IFSC and the banks, about which I spoke about here some time ago. I know a number of the banks are, unfortunately, winding down. I am talking about foreign-owned banks. I am worried about competition but there is a much more immediate threat reported in The Irish Times this morning. It concerns a radical new plan or rethink for the IFSC. Something is badly needed there. There has been such investment in infrastructure down there and there are some iconic buildings. It will not serve the capital city well if jobs are lost and people are less inclined to live down there. I know the Leader is anxious to have a debate on banks. At a meeting of the Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, I raised the threat of foreign-owned banks winding down and possibly exiting our market, which would be very serious. We had hoped to have the debate, but I think we have run out of time to do it in this session. It is urgent. I urge the Leader to arrange a combined debate or two separate debates when we come back.

I second the amendment to the Order of Business proposed by Senator Cullinane. It is vital we have a debate on the health system, particularly in light of events happening across the sector. Attention was drawn yesterday and this morning by Senator Cullinane to the medical card fiasco and the withdrawal of medical cards from individuals. The response given yesterday, and I appreciate that it is a response from the Department of Health to the Leader of the House, is that a high percentage of the population have medical cards. That is correct, but a high percentage of the population have medical cards through no fault of their own. They have them because they are unemployed and on social welfare because the domestic economy is stagnant and no jobs are being created.

This Government promised a single tier health system when it came into office. It involved the removal of charges for seeing a GP, the shortening of waiting times in hospitals and a move from reimbursement based on fixed amounts to the money follows the patient model. None of that has happened. Waiting times have increased in all of the hospitals throughout the country.

That is nonsense.

I can prove it and have the facts to show it.

Senator Ó Domhnaill, without interruption.

The usual rubbish.

Has Senator Ó Domhnaill a question for the Leader?

Can we get to specifics?

Senator Ó Domhnaill, without interruption. Senator Conway has already spoken.

I will provide one specific figure.

Has Senator Ó Domhnaill a question for the Leader?