Incitement and attacks on democracy
Senator Healy Eames condemns attacks on the President and Deputy Mulherin’s office, warning that public anger must not become incitement or violence; the Chair defers further points to debate.
I join in the condemnation of two recent serious incidents, namely the fire-bombing of Deputy Michelle Mulherin's office and the verbal attacks and assaults on the President. To echo the concerns of Senator Diarmuid Wilson, we need to be careful that there is a fine line around the growing movement which could be considered incitement to hatred. I understand people are angry, disappointed and struggling. We have to be able to communicate, however, without putting lives and property at risk, as well as the office of the President.
I welcome yesterday's measured attempt by the Governor of the Central Bank to strike a balance between giving access to first-time buyers at the 10% deposit level while, at the same time, ensuring we do not reignite another credit bubble. This was a responsible move on his part. While I know it is not ideal and may need tweaking, we must give the Governor credit for listening and for regulating, something a previous Regulator did not do.
Will the Leader organise a debate with the Minister for Health on the recent euro health consumer index which showed Ireland has slipped eight places from 14 to 22 in its ranking after its waiting list data was found to have lost credibility? Ireland got a red score for hospital-acquired infections like MSRA, methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, the vomiting bug and waiting lists. Last week, on waiting lists, the Minister told the House he would not get involved in individual hospitals because his job is policy. This index clearly stated our waiting list data has lost credibility and that the health system must now listen to patient organisations. We must take in the qualitative as well as the quantitative data. The Minister needs to take that on board as Ireland is now on a par with Romania when it comes to patient empowerment and with Sweden for terrible waiting lists. We have slipped way down in the rankings.
The Minister must have targeted interventions that will make a difference. Some services are working like the advanced nurse practitioner scheme. We need to look at good practice. My colleague, Deputy Denis Naughten, has pointed out that one in eight hospital beds is taken up by COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. If there were targeted community intervention on this condition, up to 57% of beds would be saved. That is smart thinking. We need to bring the Minister into the House to discuss interventions.
