Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 13 Oct 2009

Vol. 691 No. 3

Adjournment Debate.

Cystic Fibrosis Services.

Deputy Michael McGrath

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for allowing me to raise an important national issue, namely, the provision of dedicated facilities at Cork University Hospital for patients with cystic fibrosis. When I checked the Official Report, it is almost a year to the day, 15 October 2008, when I last raised this matter on the Adjournment. I acknowledge the progress that has been made since in the provision of services and facilities for people with cystic fibrosis. I also acknowledge the additional funding provided for staffing levels with the roll-out of multidisciplinary support teams across the country. Significant improvements have been made in services infrastructure, particularly in St. Vincent's Hospital, Dublin and elsewhere. I am glad there has been some improvement in life expectancy for people with cystic fibrosis. The Health Service Executive provides direct funding for maintaining a cystic fibrosis registry which now can provide relevant data for 90% of those with cystic fibrosis.

This Adjournment debate is also timely with the publication today of the HSE report on services for people with cystic fibrosis. The report was completed in 2006 but has only now been published. It followed on from the Pollock report, commissioned by the Cystic Fibrosis Association of Ireland, which was presented to the HSE. Many of that report's recommendations have been implemented in the past few years.

A statement of need was finalised some time ago for the provision of dedicated cystic fibrosis facilities at Cork University Hospital, to include a dedicated day care unit, with the scope and scale of inpatient beds in a respiratory ward outlined. Anyone with knowledge of cystic fibrosis will be aware that the risk of cross-infection for sufferers in an acute hospital environment is significant. Independent access to cystic fibrosis facilities in a hospital environment is important for sufferers to prevent exposing them to a significant risk of cross-infection which can have fatal consequences. Some progress has been made in the provision of such facilities at Cork University Hospital. The most recent correspondence I received from the HSE indicates plans are being advanced for an interim day care facility in the hospital which will include a dedicated day care space for adult patients until the overall site development plan is advanced for the permanent provision of facilities for children and adult cystic fibrosis patients.

I acknowledge the work of the voluntary group, Build4life, in counties Cork and Kerry which to date has raised in excess €1.5 million. I also acknowledge the work of the Cork 65 Roses Ball committee which held a charity ball last Saturday night to highlight the need to improve the facilities available at Cork University Hospital for both adult and children cystic fibrosis sufferers.

I hope the Minister of State will be able to outline the national position and that in Cork University Hospital in the provision and improvement of services outlined in today's report from the HSE. I welcome the statement the Cystic Fibrosis Association of Ireland has published in response to the HSE report, particularly that new-born screening for cystic fibrosis will begin in 2010. I look forward to the Minister of State's response and hope we can provide as soon as possible across the country and at Cork University Hospital the facilities cystic fibrosis sufferers need and badly deserve.

Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children (Deputy John Moloney)

I apologise for the absence of the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Harney.

The Government is acutely aware of the tremendous challenges the 1,174 people living with cystic fibrosis face every day. The Minister for Health and Children has prioritised the development of services for people suffering with cystic fibrosis and, since 2006, funding of €6.78 million has been provided for the HSE to develop services. It is particularly important to develop efficient and equitable cystic fibrosis services, as evidence shows that not only are people with cystic fibrosis living longer, but the number of children born with cystic fibrosis is also increasing. It is vital, therefore, that these services are enhanced to cope with the anticipated increase in demand.

To date, the HSE has primarily focused on increasing staffing levels in treatment units across the country and developing and modernising hospital facilities to ensure patients requiring admission can be treated in the best environment possible. The approach in developing services for persons with cystic fibrosis has been informed by two significant reports. The first, the Pollock report, was commissioned by the Cystic Fibrosis Association of Ireland and involved a review of existing hospital services for cystic fibrosis in the context of accepted international standards. This report identified the need to develop services and improve the physical infrastructure in hospitals which treat cystic fibrosis patients.

A multidisciplinary working group, established by the HSE in 2005, undertook a detailed review of cystic fibrosis services. The group identified a range of necessary service improvements, including the need to increase the levels of consultant, nursing and allied professional staffing in cystic fibrosis units nationally. The group's report will be made available shortly by the HSE.

Since 2006, many programmes and developments have been initiated and many are completed or near completion. In Cork the situation is improving significantly for the 110 adult and 80 paediatric patients for whom Cork University Hospital cares. Two new medical consultants, additional nursing staff, allied health professional staff and support staff have been recruited, ensuring patients can receive prompt and appropriate care. Plans are also being developed to provide a cystic fibrosis day care facility in the hospital. This is being advanced in conjunction with the Build4life Association, the adult cystic fibrosis multidisciplinary team and the executive management board of Cork University Hospital.

At St. Vincent's Hospital, the national adult tertiary referral centre, several capital projects have been completed. The enhanced facilities provided include a new ambulatory care centre and a new emergency department which includes single-room accommodation. The refurbishment of accommodation to provide eight single en-suite rooms for patients with cystic fibrosis has also been completed and the beds are now operational. The next phase in the development of St. Vincent's Hospital's facilities will involve the building of a new ward block to replace existing accommodation. The new ward block will provide single room en-suite accommodation, 100 rooms, with a dedicated day unit for people with cystic fibrosis, including single day treatment rooms with en-suite sanitary facilities. It is hoped the development will become operational as early as possible in 2011.

Another initiative which will contribute to the improvement of care for people with cystic fibrosis is the creation of data registries which gather information from individual patients and provide a pool of accurate data that can be used for research purposes. An independent registry for cystic fibrosis, funded by the State, has been established. This will help to make international comparisons over time regarding the incidence of cystic fibrosis treatment and outcomes for patients. An epidemiological survival analysis has recently been completed by the registry. The final report is expected to be published shortly. Among the many elements of the report is the welcome finding that the average life expectancy of people with cystic fibrosis has increased significantly in recent years. Progress is also being made by the HSE on the introduction of a national screening programme for newborns. A steering group has been established to oversee its implementation and to ensure co-ordination with the development of other relevant services. I look forward to the early introduction of this important service. Overall, this package of measures demonstrates the Government's strong commitment to improving the level of services available to people with cystic fibrosis, not alone in Cork but throughout the country.

State Airports.

Deputy Joe Carey

I want to express my absolute disgust at Aer Lingus for yet again singling out Shannon Airport for most of its planned cuts. I was shocked at the extent of the measures announced last Thursday. There is undoubtedly an agenda at work among senior Aer Lingus management to kick Shannon at every turn. Why else would the airline refuse to use the state-of-the-art new €21 million US pre-clearance facility at Shannon Airport? You can bet your bottom dollar that if the same facility were made available in Dublin first it would use it. Other carriers such as Continental, Delta and British Airways are availing of the service which puts Aer Lingus at a competitive disadvantage.

If Aer Lingus marketed and supported Shannon Airport as it does its new loss-making bases in Belfast and Gatwick, the potential of Shannon and the mid-west would be unlocked. Last winter 30,000 passengers travelled with Delta out of Shannon, whom Aer Lingus could attract.

Aer Lingus management is asking Shannon to carry an unfair burden. The loss of a 130-strong cabin crew base in Shannon and its replacement with a core group of just 20 to operate the Heathrow route is a step closer to Aer Lingus's full bypass of Shannon Airport. The Minister for Transport, Deputy Noel Dempsey, has a very poor record in defending services at Shannon. This crisis presents him with an opportunity to redeem himself.

He must intervene in the interest of balanced regional development, of securing a transatlantic base on the west coast, of business and tourism in the mid-west and of saving 102 jobs. He must use the 25% shareholding he holds in Aer Lingus to ensure US connectivity to the mid-west region. I plead with the Minister to act and for once to work in the interest of Shannon. We need to retain the full complement of cabin crew there to secure our vital Shannon transatlantic base. The Minister's failure to intervene in the Shannon-Heathrow dispute was a big mistake. He should not make the same mistake this time.

Deputy Pat Breen

These are testing times for Aer Lingus and its staff, especially those based at Shannon Airport. The airline's lamp is burning through its cash reserves faster than it can refill them and by the end of the year its cash reserves are expected to be down to €400 million from €803 million in 2008. Some of the airline management's decisions in recent years have been questionable and have left the airline in a precarious position. It has spent €180 million cash on the purchase of two Airbus aircraft and has also been a casualty of fuel hedging. In addition, while it claims that this reduction in cash reserves is due to a combination of reduced sales and high staff costs, I understand it is due to save up to €55 million a year in staff costs from January 2010 as a result of cost savings agreed with staff in the last restructuring plan.

Unfortunately, Aer Lingus staff at Shannon and the people of the mid-west will once again pay the greatest price for these bad decisions. Aer Lingus has been continually undermining and downgrading its Shannon operation for several years. It now plans to shed 102 cabin crew jobs at Shannon which will have serious implications for future transatlantic services at the airport. Aer Lingus has failed to sign up to use the new state-of-the-art US pre-clearance facility and there is no reason Aer Lingus cannot negotiate an agreement with the US port authorities which would facilitate their Shannon passengers. It flies into terminal four in New York which has a domestic baggage claim area used by Delta, Northwest and Virgin America operating domestic services and the situation in Boston is similar with a domestic baggage claim area available which is used by Southwest for its domestic routes.

Its US advertising campaigns are tilted in favour of Dublin Airport as the two most recent campaigns testify. It now plans to reduce the New York EI 111 service from Shannon to a thrice-weekly flight. Bookings for the Shannon-New York service to the end of March 2010 are well ahead of bookings on the EI 105 Dublin-JFK service but I am amazed that the airline plans to operate its Shannon service on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays two of which days have traditionally been poor for bookings on the New York route. I believe the airline is intentionally running down the Shannon operation to show that the Shannon service underperforms against the Dublin one. I have constantly pointed out the need for the airline to review the timing of its Shannon flight. EI 111 should depart at 9 o'clock or 10 o'clock in the morning which would allow the airline to compete for the 30,000 passengers who travelled with Delta Airlines last winter which is not operating from Shannon this winter.

I hope the Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children, Deputy Moloney, will tell the Minister for Transport that what is needed now is an urgent meeting with Christoph Mueller who has not had sufficient time to make himself au fait with the Shannon situation and I am calling on the Minister to arrange this meeting. The Government has a 25% shareholding in Aer Lingus and has appointed directors to the company. The Minister must have learned lessons from the Shannon-Heathrow debacle last year and I urge him to act and arrange this meeting immediately.

Deputy Jan O’Sullivan

We all know that Aer Lingus must cut its costs but it is out of proportion for it to take 102 cabin crew out of Shannon when it is taking only 100 out of Dublin and Cork airports together. In the interests of balanced regional development the west depends on having connectivity through Shannon Airport for the sake of industrial development and of the society in the west and mid-west. With all due respect to him, the Minister of State present here has no brief whatsoever for transport. That the Minister for Transport did not come to the House to reply to four different Deputies on this issue of crucial concern to the people in the mid-west indicates how he views Shannon Airport.

I urge the Government to use its 25% share in Aer Lingus. What was the point of keeping a 25% share in the airline if it does not use it in the interest of balance for the country? The transatlantic routes are crucial to Shannon's survival. It offers very few flights into Europe. There are a couple of Heathrow connections which we had to fight to win back, despite the Government's having allowed them to be taken away. Transatlantic travel is crucial to Shannon. I urge the Government to insist that the cabin crew that deals with the transatlantic routes be based in Shannon. That makes sense. Many flights go in other directions from Cork and Dublin. The Minister should let us have our cabin crew in Shannon and a commitment from Aer Lingus to Shannon Airport.

There is no problem about opening up the customs pre-clearance facility at Shannon and it should be opened now. I urge the Government to insist that Aer Lingus do that. There is a domestic baggage claim area in terminal four in JFK airport and in Boston airport. There is no problem about opening the pre-clearance facility in Shannon for Aer Lingus passengers and this will not conflict in any way with the Dublin passengers. It is a falsehood to suggest that this is a problem.

The airline needs to keep a proper base of cabin crew in Shannon Airport and above all to respect the loyalty of the staff who have stayed with the airline despite opportunities to go. It is vital to the west that we have air connectivity. It is shameful that the Green Party while in Government does not stand up for balanced regional development in which it is supposed to believe. I hope the Minister for Transport will somehow listen to this debate and take this issue seriously because it is of vital concern to us in the region.

Deputy Kieran O’Donnell

I beg the Acting Chairman's indulgence on a matter of vital interest for the mid-west and Limerick. It is absolutely shameful that the Minister for Transport is not in the Chamber tonight. When I was elected to the Dáil in 2007, the first issue before the House was the Shannon-Heathrow route. At that time, the Minister, Deputy Dempsey, stated he was disowning the problem of dealing with the 25% stake. When the Government retained its 25% stake in Aer Lingus, it did so for strategic reasons. I tabled a parliamentary question to the Minister on the transatlantic routes Aer Lingus operated from Shannon to which I got a two-line response stating that commercial operational matters at Aer Lingus are a matter for the management and board of the company. The Minister has three appointees on the board and he should be in the House tonight. We all know Aer Lingus has difficulties because of today's world markets but what is now required is a consideration of what can be done to keep a sustainable transatlantic service from Shannon Airport that will involve the retention of the 127 cabin staff based there.

The Heathrow route was taken from Shannon and Aer Lingus had to restore it because it was profitable. It made the wrong decision and is now making the wrong decision about the transatlantic routes and the removal of the cabin crew based at Shannon Airport. Negotiations are getting under way between unions and management. The Minister for Transport should use the 25% stake to ensure Aer Lingus looks at the broad overall perspective for a sustainable base in Shannon Airport for transatlantic routes.

Aer Lingus should be using the customer border clearance facility at Shannon Airport. Why is it not doing so? The Government paid for that facility to be based there. It is a 25% stakeholder. Why does it not insist that Aer Lingus use the facility?

Deputy Paul Kehoe

Hear, hear.

Deputy Kieran O’Donnell

It is a comparative advantage for Ireland and the mid-west. I am a Deputy representing Limerick. Shannon Airport is vital to us, both for connectivity through Heathrow and for the transatlantic routes. I cannot understand why the Minister for Transport is not present tonight. There are 102 jobs at stake. The future of the region is at stake with regard to the connectivity which is required for balanced regional development. That is why the Government retained its 25% stake in Aer Lingus.

It is cowardly for the Minister not to be present tonight to answer our questions. He should insist that Aer Lingus engage in meaningful discussions with the unions and management with regard to providing a sustainable service based in Shannon Airport with cabin crew based there. These people have given loyal service over many years to Aer Lingus and to Limerick, the mid-west and Shannon Airport. They want to stay in their jobs and are willing to work with management. Meaningful discussions are now required.

I understand discussions are getting under way tomorrow, with detailed discussions to take place on 29 October. I expect the Minister to come to the House and give Members an assurance that he will stand up for the interests of the Aer Lingus workers and the mid-west, Limerick in particular, rather than provide a meaningless two-line answer. We all want to work with Aer Lingus and we realise it has financial difficulties. Let us look at a sustainable model for Shannon Airport such as was never undertaken by Aer Lingus. The airline made a mistake with the Heathrow route and is now making a significant mistake with the transatlantic route and in taking cabin crew away from Shannon Airport. I want the Minister of State, Deputy John Moloney, who is present, to tell the Minister for Transport, Deputy Dempsey, we are not going to go away. This issue will return to the House and we expect the Minister to answer these questions then.

Deputy John Moloney

The Minister, Deputy Dempsey, has no intention of showing disrespect to Deputy O'Donnell, his colleagues or the House. He had agreed a prior engagement——

Deputy Kieran O’Donnell

Why is he not present?

Deputy John Moloney

I made the point he had a prior engagement. That does not mean he will be unavailable for future questions. I am certain he will be and I apologise in his absence.

Deputy Kieran O’Donnell

What about the 25% stake in Aer Lingus?

Deputy John Moloney

I apologised for the Minister's absence and assured the Deputy he did not intend to show any disrespect. I am sure he will be available to answer questions.

I thank Deputies for raising this matter on the Adjournment. Decisions on commercial and operational matters at Aer Lingus are a matter for the board and management of the company and it is not open to the Government to intervene in such matters. Aer Lingus is an independent company and has to make decisions on a commercial basis. The State's 25% shareholding does not confer on the Minister a right to influence commercial decisions at the company.

Deputy Kieran O’Donnell

He has three directors on the board.

Deputy John Moloney

I repeat the State's 25% shareholding does not confer on the Minister a right to influence commercial decisions at the company.

(Interruptions).

Acting Chairman (Deputy Charlie O’Connor)

The Minister of State, without interruption, please.

Deputy Jan O’Sullivan

What is the point of it?

Acting Chairman

No interruptions, please.

Deputy Kieran O’Donnell

He has three directors on the board.

Deputy John Moloney

I am trying to give the Deputies an answer.

Acting Chairman

The Minister of State, through the Chair, please. Colleagues, please allow the Minister of State to respond. You are allowed to make your contributions and must be fair to the Minister of State.

Deputy John Moloney

The State's three representatives on the board of Aer Lingus derive their duties from the Companies Acts and, as such, are obliged to pursue the best interests of the company.

Deputy Michael D. Higgins

So much for the public interest.

Deputy John Moloney

Subject to that duty the Minister has mandated the State-nominated directors to seek to ensure that all decisions of the company that have significant implications for wider Government, aviation or regional development policies are considered at board level. In any such decisions they are directed to seek to reconcile commercial and public policy objectives. The Government is satisfied from all the information available to it that a major restructuring of the group's cost base is essential if Aer Lingus is to survive.

The Minister understands that approximately 100 of the 676 job losses being sought by the company will be at its Shannon Airport base. Job losses are particularly regrettable in the current economic climate and the Minister and I have every sympathy for those whose jobs are on the line. The Minister understands a consultation process between management and staff is now under way and he encourages all parties to engage constructively in that process. The industrial relations mechanisms of the State are available to assist in reaching an agreed outcome for all concerned.

From an aviation policy perspective, the cornerstones of Government aviation policy are competitiveness and connectivity. A viable Aer Lingus is key to ensuring the achievement of these objectives. In Ireland, our priority now is to ensure we can sustain continued air access to key business and tourism markets. Competition among airlines serving the Irish market has been the cornerstone of our aviation policy resulting in dramatic growth in air services and passenger numbers over the past ten to 15 years until the advent of the global downturn. The best way to maximise Ireland's air connectivity is to see Aer Lingus returned to a stable footing to allow it to compete aggressively in the current very difficult market environment. This is a difficult time for Aer Lingus. I ask all stakeholders and regional interests to lend their support to the airline to ensure it has a viable independent future for the benefit of tourism, business and the country's economic recovery.

Acting Chairman

I thank the Minister of State and my colleagues for their various levels of co-operation.

Diplomatic Representation.

Deputy Michael D. Higgins

I wish to share time with Deputies Howlin and Kehoe whom I know share my concern regarding the matter I raise. I am happy they should have an opportunity to express their concerns.

I raise the kidnapping of Father Michael Sinnott who is from Barntown near Clonard, an area I know well for many different reasons. It is a fundamental fact that the kidnapping of an Irish citizen who has worked abroad in such a distinguished way for nearly five decades, as Father Sinnott has done, is something that affects all of us. Father Sinnott's Columban community has expressed its concern but I wanted us, as a Parliament, to join the Columbans in saying we wish to convey to the Filipino community and the breakaway group in Mindanao that we are affected. Everyone in Ireland is affected by the kidnapping of Father Sinnott, a man aged 80, who has very special medical needs. His community has appealed to those who may be holding him to deal immediately with the authorities and negotiate so that his medical needs can be met.

That this is not a party political matter is important, as we all share a concern. Ambassador Richard O'Brien has flown to the Philippines and is in touch with those who are seeking to discover Fr. Sinnott's whereabouts. This is a difficult time for his family and companions in the Columban order. I know a number of individuals in the order. They are distinguished as people who have entered problematic areas, be they in Peru or the Philippines. What is interesting is that Fr. Sinnott is one of those who sought to transcend cultural, ethnic and religious differences, being as he was part of the inter-faith dialogue. In addition, some in the Islamic community have issued statements to the effect that they are appalled by his kidnapping in so far as he had assisted some of the weakest people. In 1998 he founded a school for children with intellectual disabilities. He is regularly photographed among the community and has enjoyed the support and love of people of different religious beliefs.

I raise this matter only to send messages, however they might be delivered, abroad and at home. One message is to the Columban community and Fr. Sinnott's family to the effect that we are in solidarity with them. The other is to those who are encountering Fr. Sinnott in his work abroad. Anything visited upon him is visited upon everyone in Ireland. For this reason, the Parliament wants to send a message to people who may never get to hear it, namely, that we want him released and to have immediate access to the medical support he requires.

Deputy Brendan Howlin

I am grateful to my friend and colleague, Deputy Higgins, for seeking this Adjournment debate and affording me a brief opportunity to lend my support to the appeal that he has made before Parliament — I hope it will be echoed on the other side of the world — for the immediate release of Fr. Michael Sinnott, an elderly son of my home town of Wexford and the parish of Clonard which he visited not long ago to recuperate following heart bypass surgery. During his visit he said mass in Clonard church. He comes from a distinguished Wexford family that has given great public service to the community. His abduction has caused considerable distress to his family in Wexford, his religious brothers, the wider community in Wexford and the entire nation. I am heartened to hear of the immediate intervention to be made by our ambassador to Singapore who has flown to the Philippines. I also know of the active involvement of the Department of Foreign Affairs.

It is a source of great distress that two Irish citizens have been abducted in two parts of the world — the Sudan and the Philippines.

Deputy Michael D. Higgins

Aid workers.

Deputy Brendan Howlin

We also show our concern for an Ugandan employee of GOAL. I hope our plea will have some impact. Every side of the House will join in exhorting the Department of Foreign Affairs to do all that it can to intervene speedily in this matter. Genuinely, we fear that the health of Fr. Sinnott is not great. He needs his medication and freedom.

Deputy Paul Kehoe

I thank Deputy Higgins for allowing me to add my voice to the call for the early release of Fr. Michael Sinnott. As Deputy Howlin stated, he is a native of County Wexford and I know members of his family well. One of his nieces is a member of my office staff in Enniscorthy and I know how concerned his family is for his safety and well-being. He is 80 years of age and, as Deputy Higgins stated, has spent a long time, nearly 50 years, in the Philippines. Like many Columban priests, he has done good work to ensure the well-being of people there. I ask that his captors release him early or liaise with the Columban order or the authorities in the Philippines to ensure this situation can be brought to a satisfactory end. As we all know, Fr. Sinnott had heart bypass surgery a number of years ago and is in need of medication. His health is of significant concern to us all. He has been described as a compassionate defender of victims, a fighter of injustices and a benefactor to the poor, particularly adults and children with disabilities. I echo Bishop Denis Brennan's sentiments expressed on Monday morning when he asked Deputies and the greater community to remember in their prayers and thoughts Fr. Sinnott, better known as Fr. Mal, in order that the situation might be brought to a speedy and satisfactory end. My thoughts and prayers are with his family.

Deputy John Moloney

Like the Deputies, I am extremely concerned for the welfare of Father Michael Sinnott, who was abducted from his residence near the southern city of Pagadian in the Philippines, on Sunday, 11 October. Father Sinnott, who is a member of the Missionaries of St. Columba, is nearly 80 years of age. He has a heart condition, which required a bypass four years ago and is in need of daily medication.

I wish to assure the House that the Government is making every possible effort to secure Father Sinnott's release. On hearing of his abduction, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Micheál Martin, immediately asked our ambassador to the Philippines, Mr. Richard O'Brien, who is based in Singapore, to travel to the Philippines to impress upon the Government there our concerns about the safety and health of Father Sinnott and also to work with the authorities to help secure his early release.

The information we have received is that Father Sinnott was abducted by a number of armed men from the Columban house in Gates District in Pagadian City. The Government authorities in the Philippines have reported to Ambassador O'Brien that the assailants forcibly entered the Columban house, seized Father Sinnott at gunpoint and fled with him in a mini-van which was subsequently abandoned and burned. The abductors took Father Sinnott to a nearby beach where they boarded one or more boats.

The Philippine security forces immediately launched an operation against the kidnappers. The security forces claim to know the whereabouts of the kidnappers and to be monitoring their position. The Philippine Government has issued a statement condemning the kidnapping of Father Sinnott, expressing its abhorrence at this type of crime and appealing for Father Sinnott's immediate and safe release.

On his arrival in Manila, Ambassador O'Brien met the superior of the Columban order and other members of the Columban community, many of whom are Irish. He has also met with the deputy secretary of the ministry of the interior; with the under secretary of state of the Philippine Government who is managing the kidnap and who had been given charge of the operation. He also met with the deputy chief of police, who has special responsibility for the safe return of Father Sinnott and with the police chief of the neighbouring area, who is joint co-ordinator of the task force established to deal with the abduction.

Ambassador O'Brien also met with officials from the ministry of foreign affairs and the British Embassy. He has been working throughout with the invaluable assistance of our honorary consul in Manila, Ms. Noreen Trota. The Philippine authorities gave the ambassador an account of their investigation and efforts to date to free Father Sinnott. Ambassador O'Brien impressed upon them that the Philippine authorities have operational responsibility for the management of this hostage situation and for security matters in their own country, and for the resolution of this unacceptable situation in a swift and peaceful manner. He also stressed that efforts are needed in the short term to persuade the kidnappers to ensure that Father Sinnott has all the necessary medication he needs at this time. The local church has appealed to the kidnappers to secure the necessary medical supplies for Father Sinnott.

The Philippine Government has also indicated that as yet nobody has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping, and there has not been any contact from the kidnappers. While a number of groups have been cited locally as possibly responsible for the kidnapping, it would be counter-productive to speculate further at this stage. The Minister, Deputy Micheál Martin, has been in direct contact with the head of the Columban order both here and in the Philippines. The consular division of the Department of Foreign Affairs has been in contact with the family contact person here in Ireland. Father Sinnott has four sisters, one of whom is a Loreto sister.

In conclusion, I appeal to the kidnappers to release Father Sinnott. He has made such a contribution to the welfare of the ordinary people of the Philippines and he deserves to be honoured for his work rather than taken by force from his home in such a violent manner.

The Dáil adjourned at 11.10 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Wednesday, 14 October 2009.