Seanad report:House leader Mary O'Rourke commended the humanitarian feelings of a Fianna Fáil member who criticised the prison sentence imposed on a Galway county councillor.
Labhrás Ó Murchú said that during the 10 years he had been in the House, he had found that members on all sides had always shown a very strong humanitarian orientation, "in other words, thinking of people who are vulnerable and people who are helpless, particularly where the aged are concerned".
There had always been people willing to speak on behalf of elderly persons who had suffered or had been victimised in some way.
"There is a case at the moment of a 96-year-old woman in Galway who in her twilight years is going to have her whole life changed and she is possibly going to end up in some type of an institution with no one to care for her.
"The reason that that is happening is because her son is going to be going to prison. That is a justice issue and we have discussed justice here on many, many occasions and we have talked also about the varying approaches to it. My honest belief in this case is that humanitarian aspects should have been brought to bear."
Cathaoirleach Rory Kiely intervened to say that that was a court decision and they must respect the separation of powers.
Mr Ó Murchú added: "Whether it's politically correct or not, I would like to make this point, that I don't honestly believe that an old woman like that should find herself in this position.
"There were opportunities within the justice system to ensure that the person who was going to be in prison could, in fact, have done community service. I do not accept that this woman should find herself in the position that she now finds herself in at the moment."
Ms O'Rourke said that her Fianna Fáil colleague had brought up the humanitarian issue of a woman in her 90s who had to leave her home in order to be looked after because of an incident in her son's life. "I commend your feelings, Senator Ó Murchú," she added.
Meanwhile, the way to clarify whether the Taoiseach or the Minister for Health was telling the truth over future children's hospital services was to have a debate on the statutory instrument which the Minister was to sign soon, Brian Hayes, Fine Gael leader in the House said.
A draft of the instrument to establish a national paediatric hospital interim board had been sent to Temple Street, Crumlin and the National Children's Hospital in Tallaght.
Mr Hayes said that as they had yet to have a debate on the proposed national children's hospital, a debate on the statutory instrument would facilitate one.
It was stated clearly in the definition section of the draft that secondary hospital services for children in Dublin and in the greater Dublin area would be included.
That was at variance with the commitment that the Taoiseach had given in the Dáil recently when he had said that 90 per cent of the children in Tallaght would be treated locally.
"We either have secondary services locally or we don't," added Mr Hayes.
"What the Taoiseach has said is completely at variance with what the Minister for Health has said . . . so which is it?"