I echo the statements of sympathy for the Breen and Buchanan families and the praise for Judge Smithwick. I also welcome the measured response by the Minister of Justice in Northern Ireland, David Ford. I am sure that the very good working relationship between him and the Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence, Deputy Shatter, will serve us all.

Will the Leader clarify whether yet again the Department of Health is refusing to implement an EU directive on health insurance, dating back to 1992? According to reports on the radio we are seeking yet another year’s derogation. In this sector between 2008 and 2012 premiums went up by 56%, and 250,000 people have given up health insurance. We subscribe to the principles of open enrolment, community rating and lifetime cover but the Department is interested in protecting its in-house company, the VHI. It is not working. Health insurance is a financial service and should be regulated accordingly. There is not a separate Exchequer for the Department of Health. The present policy is postponing the day when the Government moves towards universal health insurance. Will the Leader clarify if the Department of Health is yet again postponing a decision that the Commission asked it to make in 1992, which has been endorsed by the European Court and the Supreme Court here? When will the Department wake up to the damage that it is doing to the health insurance sector in Ireland?

Treatments that take 10.6 days here and cost €1,500 per night per bed can be done in 3.7 days elsewhere. There is huge waste which a competing health insurance company could help to eliminate. It is more procrastination and it has been going on so long that I do not blame the Minister for this; rather, it is the corporate culture in the Department of Health that wants VHI to always be protected from more efficient new entrants.

I join Senator Darragh O'Brien and other colleagues in commending Judge Peter Smithwick on the valuable work he and his inquiry team conducted in producing this report over the last seven or eight years. I share the sentiments expressed by all of those Senators who contributed on that issue.

It is important, as Senator Darragh O'Brien stressed, that nothing in this report detracts from the great and good work of the Garda force over the years of the Troubles in policing the safety of our people and the institutions of the State. We must remember that only three officers were named in this report. The references to inappropriate and improper contact with members of the Provisional IRA involved no more than three that Judge Smithwick could identify, and it referred to one Garda station in the country, namely, Dundalk. We have to get matters in perspective in that regard.

I raised the report with the Leader yesterday and he said it was imminent. He was right, proving he is probably better informed than the rest of us. I thank him for his commitment yesterday - I have no doubt he will give it again this morning - to allow us a full debate on this report in early course.

If I may, I want to refer to one recommendation in the report. We have all referred over the years to issues regarding the Border, for example, the smuggler mentality and the illegal activities such as fuel laundering, cigarette smuggling and so on.

Is the Senator seeking a debate on the report?

I believe that has been agreed. I want to refer to one recommendation of Judge Smithwick, which states: "That frameworks and procedures be put in place to allow for the structured and regular exchange of intelligence between the PSNI and An Garda Síochána, which exchange should be governed by information-sharing protocols rather than ad hoc decision-making." In that regard, he commends as a model worthy of potential the specific operation that is in place between the United States and Canada along their border. I believe, building upon that, we could have Border offices out of which the two forces may be able to jointly operate. We have all heard of hot pursuit and so on, and many of us have referred to Border corridors, but an arrangement in line with that recommendation could be put in place, although, of course, that would be a matter for the Governments. I look forward to us developing our thoughts further along those lines when we come to deal with the full debate.

Ba mhaith liom tacú leis an éileamh go mbeadh díospóireacht leathan againn maidir leis an tuarascáil Smithwick, a fhoilsíodh inné. It is important to note that the Smithwick tribunal was established as a result of an agreement in negotiations at Weston Park in 2001 between the British and Irish Governments and the political parties, and that Sinn Féin supported the establishment of a series of inquiries, including the Smithwick inquiry. In a significant and unprecedented development, three former IRA volunteers gave evidence to that. Judge Smithwick has drawn his own conclusions-----

IRA terrorists.

Senator Ó Clochartaigh, without interruption.

I am not surprised Fianna Fáil is again trying to make political capital out of the suffering of people.

That is what they were.

Judge Smithwick has drawn his conclusions. We all need to read the report in full and draw our own conclusions. People will make up their own minds on this report.

Sinn Féin has supported these inquiries on the basis that the families had the right to full disclosure of all relevant information. However, what Judge Smithwick described as collusion is very different in form and scale from the collusion that occurred in the North. During 30 years of war, the British state was responsible for structured, institutionalised and co-ordinated state-run collusion and death squads which led to the deaths of hundreds of citizens, including those killed in the Dublin, Monaghan and Dundalk bomb attacks.

What about this collusion, Senator?

The Sinn Féin press office is-----

The British Government refuses to hand over the vital information on these-----

Is the Senator looking for a debate?

I am supporting the call for a debate but I believe that debate needs to broaden its perspective. We also need to note that while the Irish Government has kept its commitment under Weston Park, the British Government is in clear breach of its commitments, having refused to establish an inquiry into the murder of human rights lawyer, Pat Finucane. The Irish Government now needs to increase its pressure on the British Government to honour its commitment and to set up the promised public inquiry into the murder of Pat Finucane.

Are you looking for a debate?

We are looking for that debate to happen but we are looking for the parameters of that debate to cover all of the legacy issues and the setting up of an independent international truth commission to deal with all of those issues in regard to the war.

I join the call this morning for a full and frank debate on the Smithwick report. I very much welcome its publication and compliment the judge on his painstaking work over a protracted period. I want to express our sympathies to the families of Chief Superintendent Harry Breen and Superintendent Bob Buchanan. Our thoughts are very much with them today.

It is regrettable that some damage has certainly been done to the reputation of the Garda. The report points to one bad apple at one Garda station in Dundalk and it is worrying that the report states it is unlikely this person will be identified. I would certainly have thought it should have been possible to identify this person, given the location from which they worked was certainly identified.

There is some rightful criticism of the republican movement for its less than full co-operation with the inquiry. There are certainly legacy issues from the past to be dealt with and, if we want the full truth to come out, people have to be forthright and upfront, and co-operate fully with all inquiries. I fully agree with Senator Ó Clochartaigh on the matter of the inquiry into the death of Pat Finucane and that report must also be concluded.

I very much welcome the fact the Minister for Justice and Equality and the Tánaiste gave a very full apology to the families. This is welcome and, I see from media reports, very much appreciated by the families.

I strongly support the words of Senator Colm Burke in calling for some level of common sense and co-operation to be brought to bear on the ESB. There is something bureaucratic and crazy about a situation where ten steps have to be followed before a house can be reconnected with electricity. I call on the relevant Ministers to get together to resolve that issue.

I support the call for a debate on the findings of the Smithwick report and all that is contained within it. It is certainly shocking when it is taken in its full context, but it is also shocking when certain politicians would try to lay the blame, or at least part of the blame, on those who were murdered. One cannot do that if one subscribes to peace. One cannot have peace in the form of an à la carte menu; it must be on the basis of exclusive peace. All political parties should reflect on this issue and not jump to conclusions, and certainly not blame those who were murdered for any shortcomings in this regard.

The issue of health has been raised on the Order of Business a number of times. The Government can defend its record, if it so wishes, but the facts speak louder than words. In my own county, the waiting lists for orthodontic treatment have increased by 900% under this Minister's watch. The average waiting list for orthodontic treatment has gone from 458 patients in Donegal in July 2011 to 4,127 on 26 November this year. That is just over a 900% increase on the watch of the Minister, Deputy James Reilly.

We hear that waiting lists are under control but the figures and facts do not back that up. It is time we had the Minister for Health in this Chamber to discuss such issues. I suggest we need a full day to go through the shortcomings in the Department of Health, right across the board, whether it is in regard to medical cards, orthodontic treatment or the overpayment issue in hospitals and the culpability of the Minister and Department in that regard.

We have all seen the media reports on that issue in recent weeks.

Does the Senator have a question for the Leader?

I am calling for a debate on all these issues. We in this House will be serving the people well if we have that debate, which should take place from early morning until late at night. It will allow us, Government and Opposition Members alike, to hold the Minister to account in this Chamber. I hope the Leader will accede to my request.