Three years ago at one of the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly meetings, I met a professor of European history who forecast exactly what would happen after so many years of difficulty in Europe. He forecast that the United Kingdom and United States would opt for far-right leaders. He said that after times of difficulty, people look for a strong leader. I asked him what he meant and he said that in the 1930s - I am not assuming the United Kingdom and United States will go down this road - the people in Germany wanted a strong leader and they got one. We are facing very interesting and difficult challenges that arise every so many decades.

Yesterday, the National Party was due to set itself up in the State, representing the people who look at multiculturalism with dismay. It is their right to set up a party, with whatever views they have, but I see that the hotel in question withdrew its hosting of the launch. While we must be careful that we do not give the oxygen of publicity to a party that is against human rights, we must also allow them to effectively participate in democracy. I am not saying they are far-right or far-left, but we need to be vigilant that parties who wish to set up in the State represent the ideals of democracy, and whatever they do I hope they live up to those ideals.

I have spoken already with regard to the National Maternity Hospital at Holles Street, its failure to move to the Elm Park site to co-locate with St. Vincent's University Hospital, Dublin and the amount of money - over €150 million - being made available from the Government. There is frustration at this situation. The Health Information and Quality Authority, HIQA, has reported that Holles Street hospital is an unsuitable location. Still we are frustrated. Each Sunday, in one of the national newspapers, we read that the situation is about to be resolved. Now 11 months have passed and we are still without a resolution. We now find that the Coombe Women's and Infants University Hospital has serious hygiene issues in its operating theatres.

What is going on in our national maternity hospitals? We have spoken about many health issues this morning but this situation is one issue that we need to address. The arrival of a baby should be a joyous occasion; Senator Frank Feighan and his partner have recently had a baby and I congratulate them. I know the staff are excellent but there is funding of up to €200 million available to be invested in our maternity services and yet it is being constantly delayed.

There are a number of issues that the Minister for Health needs to address in the House. I ask that the Leader of the House schedule this. We need to seriously look at our national maternity service and the dangers to which women and children are being exposed, not because of lack of investment from the Government but because progress is being blocked by management boards.