Today's Order of Business is item 1, which will be concluded today.
Order of Business.
The Order of Business is agreed to. With the indulgence of the Cathaoirleach, I wish to seek information pertaining to the presidential election. It is my understanding that the count will take place in the various constituencies around the country and the results will be relayed to a count centre in Dublin Castle for the final count. It is also my understanding that only two or three persons per candidate will be allowed to attend the final count. The final count on any occasion is a great political event and candidates like to have supporters present in good numbers on such an occasion. There is excitement associated with a final count.
Will the Leader ascertain as a matter of urgency if my understanding is correct and that only a few persons per candidate will be allowed to attend the final count? If that were the case, Members would agree that it would not be satisfactory. Candidates should be allowed to be accompanied by a significant number of supporters at the final count. It should not be conducted in an antiseptic bubble, so to speak, in Dublin Castle at a remove from the people.
The Order of Business is agreeable to the Independent Senators. Will the Leader ascertain if the Minister for Health and Children is aware that many members of my profession are anxious about shortages of junior staff that may soon be experienced in hospitals due to the changes made by the Medical Council to the regulations for non-nationals working here? These changes had to be made but there also appears to be problems with the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform in getting work permits for these people. There seems to be no urgency on the part of the Minister for Health and Children to address the issue and I would be glad if the Leader would bring the matter to his attention.
I echo Senator Manning's point on the numbers of people allowed at the election count. I understand the number is ten per Deputy or Senator.
Considering this House has seldom, if ever, sat on the Friday before the Hallowe'en Bank Holiday week-end, it would be timely for us to remind people this is the long week-end and to drive carefully to avoid carnage on the roads. I was glad to see the numbers of Garda checkpoints around Dublin last night. Presumably this will be happening in the run up to Christmas. Hopefully this will result in a reduction in the number of road deaths which has increased to an alarming degree in recent weeks and months.
As this is the Hallowe'en week-end, many youngsters consider this a time for thrillseeking and setting bonfires alight. The bangers used can be quite deadly; they maim and injure young people who are left unsupervised where there are large bonfires made from tyres and so on. Parents should be aware of the illegal sale of bangers.
In light of worrying developments in the Far East and the Hong Kong stock market and given the debate on EMU last week, it is amazing from what unexpected directions financial fluctuations can flow. Perhaps it would be useful to have a debate on the budget before rather than after the event which is usually the case. Other organisations make their submissions in advance of the budget. We have a post-budget debate which can be intellectually thrilling but it does not have much impact on what happens in the budget. It might be valuable for the Minister to have the benefit of the Upper House's views on the matter.
I agree with Senator Manning's point and will have the matter clarified immediately with the Minister for the Environment and Local Government. Senator Henry raised the question of a debate on health. This was also raised by Senator Finneran yesterday. I will make time available for this debate at the earliest possible opportunity.
As regards Senator Costello's point, I welcome the actions of the Garda Síochána and their efforts over the last couple of days. It was noticeable this morning on the way to the House from our various constituencies that, in the midlands, the gardaí were out in force on the roads. I congratulate those who have highlighted the difficulties experienced on the roads over the past number of weeks.
Senator Costello also requested a debate on financial matters before the budget. I must remind him that this House does not deal with financial legislation in the same way as the other House. However, a debate can be arranged on the Celtic Tiger, the buoyancy in the economy and how it started and the economic outlook over the next four to five years.
Order of Business agreed to.