What I am saying is that bad and serious as they are even more serious is the situation when we have the threat that tomorrow the junior hospital doctors of the country, who number approximately 980, say they are going to resign or hand in their resignations. These resignations, the doctors say, will take effect 14 days later, on 1st December. We have had a situation over the past two weeks or so in which they have been working very restricted hours. I appealed to the Minister more than once in this House on 25th October, and subsequently in another statement which I issued, to realise the seriousness of the situation, the tremendous danger many of the citizens of this country were placed in and the necessity for him to do his utmost to bring about a solution to this problem. I regret to say that until this very night the Minister for Health has not shown the sort of concern that this terribly serious problem should have demanded of a Minister for Health.
Tonight, the Minister went on radio, and, I presume, on television, to make a plea to the hospital doctors not to resign and to resume their normal working hours. He appears conciliatory tonight and concerned about it. I want to suggest that if this concern, and if this approach we have seen tonight at the eleventh hour, were shown somewhat earlier, if this were done last week, and if what the Minister did last week was done the week before, we might not be in the position we are in now.
A ministerial broadcast was made tonight by the Minister on RTE. He was perfectly right to make it. The matter is terribly serious and it is an appropriate one for a ministerial broadcast. I have no objection to him making it. In fact, I am glad the Minister made this broadcast and I hope his appeal will bear fruit although the possibilities of it bearing fruit are lessened by the fact that it was made so late in the day.
In relation to this broadcast I should like to point out that I gave the Chair notice at 4 o'clock today that I proposed to raise this matter tonight. The Chair kindly agreed to my request. Not long after that, sometime before 5 o'clock, we were informed that the Minister would make a statement tonight. I asked if we could be given a copy of that statement at the earliest possible moment. In view of the fact that I am Opposition spokesman on Health, and that I had given notice of my intention to raise this matter tonight, I expected that I would have been facilitated in this way.
During the afternoon we were told that it was hoped that the statement would be available "around teatime". In any event, the Minister made the broadcast at 9.05 p.m. At that time I still had not received the Minister's statement. At 9.30 p.m., because I felt it was necessary that I should be familiar with its contents before I spoke here tonight, and having failed to get it from the Government Information Service, my Whip telephoned a newspaper. He was informed that they had received three copies of the statement at 8 o'clock and they kindly arranged to send me one copy. Subsequently my Whip did succeed in obtaining a copy of the statement from the Government Information Service at ten minutes to ten. It is unfortunate that this House should be put second in anything of this nature. It is a reflection——