It is important that we have a debate on health, because reforms are taking place. It is easy for Senator MacSharry to criticise the Minister, but his party was in government for 14 years and had the opportunity to bring stability to the system.

I was never in government.

Unfortunately, we-----

Nobody made me Minister.

Senator Burke should be allowed to speak without interruption.

We inherited a system whereby in 2003 it was agreed that by 2012 there would be 3,600 consultants. In fact, when Fianna Fáil left office the number was short by 1,100. The Minister has to deal with the fallout from the system that was introduced to deal with junior doctors. More than 2,000 of the 4,900 junior doctors are only on six-month contracts. The Minister is providing necessary reform so that we can have stability in the service.

Hear, hear.

A series of initiatives have been introduced to ensure we get value for money from section 38 and section 39 organisations. In the 2012 budget, €3.27 billion of the total amount of €13.3 billion was paid to organisations that are not under the control of the Department or the HSE. The Minister has put in place necessary regulation and procedures to ensure full accountability for taxpayers’ money. While reform is taking place, I accept that it is a slow process. We are not going to dismantle a system Fianna Fáil worked on for 14 years, making it unworkable. We will not be able to provide proper value for money for the taxpayer overnight. The Minister is doing a good job.

Last year I published the Medical Practitioners (Amendment) Bill to ensure all medical practitioners have insurance. Cosmetic consultants are holding a conference in Dublin today and tomorrow which will be attended by a large number of consultants from the United Kingdom, where new regulation is being introduced on cosmetic surgery. We must introduce legislation to deal with the issue in this country. The Bill I proposed deals with some aspects of the matter but I recall the Minister said we would have a new Bill to deal with the entire area by the end of December. Could the Leader inquire of the Department when it is likely that the medical practitioners (amendment) Bill, which will introduce compulsory insurance for all medical practitioners, will be published? I ask the Leader to respond to me on the matter.

Perhaps the Taoiseach would consider making Senator Burke Minister, as he has a better command of the figures.

Senator Wilson should be allowed to speak without interruption.

I second Senator MacSharry’s amendment to the Order of Business. I would welcome an invitation from the Leader to the Minister for Health so that we could discuss the many crises and issues that exist currently in the HSE and the health service. I refer in particular to the shortage of GPs that we now face, which will become more serious in the years ahead. I would appreciate it if the Leader could facilitate the attendance of the Minister for Health at an early date so that we could address all of these important health issues.

I wish to refer also to the contributions of Senator Hayden and other colleagues on this side on homelessness. I would very much welcome a debate on the matter. It is obviously becoming a major crisis when one sees the type of person now presenting as homeless. It is no longer only single people with an addiction to drugs or alcohol who are homeless. When families begin to present as homeless it is evidence of a major crisis that must be addressed immediately.

I would also like to debate with the Minister of State, Deputy Jan O’Sullivan, her plans regarding so-called ghost estates, as raised by Senator Barrett this morning. The initial proposal is to demolish up to 44 ghost estates, but there are many hundreds of ghost estates throughout the Twenty-six Counties, and if money was spent on some of them they could provide housing for those who desperately need it.