There was much praise for staff -- but concern from the Opposition over whether enough cash was being pumped in to keep manpower up and to help needy residents.

Sen. Yvette Swan (UBP), outlining the Ministry's finances, said it had responded to hardship caused by the recession. About half its budget went to hospital services, so the increase in the cost of medical care had had an impact.

Challenges facing the Ministry included an increase in child abuse, the AIDS epidemic and the rise in the number of senior citizens.

Sen. Milton Scott (PLP) called for more effective AIDS prevention programmes in schools.

"We need to bite the bullet and look at the whole topic of adolescent sexuality,'' he said.

The dental health department had experienced increased demand, and proposed increases in funds were not enough. Children were having to wait too long for treatment.

Government should offer dental insurance benefits to its employees.

He welcomed programmes tackling the spread of AIDS and was glad to see more emphasis on senior citizens and disabled people.

But he questioned whether enough had been set aside for essential overseas medical care.

There was an urgent need for more staff at Addiction Services. Social Services generally had been overstretched.

Residential care was in "disarray'', he said, with youngsters frequently escaping. He was glad to see there would be a review.

He said teenaged boys needed to be better provided for. A residential school was needed.

Sen. Scott praised hospital services. But he pointed out only 72 percent of the hospital levy went to the hospitals. The rest went into Government coffers, which was why the levy was an income tax.

There were morale problems in the prison service, he said. Bermuda could not tolerate a "high percentage'' of prisoners testing positive for drugs. Far too many youngsters were turning to crime because of drug habits. The family had to be dealt with as a unit, he said.

Government also had to determine why an increasing number of women were being incarcerated.

Sen. Mike Winfield (UBP) said the Ministry's mechanisms, put in place before the recession, had responded "extremely well'' under pressure.

He defended spending on the new prison, saying most Bermudians did not believe in just "throwing away the key''. The aim had to be the correction of inmates' lifestyles, and that could not be achieved in the "deplorable conditions'' of Casemates.

The new prison was "aptly named'' the West End correctional facility, he said.

He praised the Island's medical insurance system: "We have been looking after our people very well''.

Sen. Alf Oughton (Ind) said he was against unemployment insurance. He wanted programmes in which social assistance was a wage for work done, not a handout.

Sen. Neletha Butterfield (PLP) said the grant for the Physical Abuse Centre was long overdue.

She called for young men in care to be provided with proper education, and for more attention to be given to homeless people.

More information was needed on how inmates were going to be rehabilitated at the new prison. One psychologist was not enough, and neither was one social worker.

The plight of children orphaned by AIDS had been ignored, Sen. Butterfield added.

Government Senate Leader the Hon. Gerald Simons said families had the main responsibility for bringing up children. Individuals had a responsibility to lead a productive life. But while Government believed in free enterprise, capitalism and individualism, it also had a conscience.

The prison service was going through bigger changes than any other department.

Each prisoner would get individual rehabilitation treatment.

He praised the role of community and environmental health services in keeping the Island in general good health.

He said quality hospital care was available at an affordable price. The Island did not have the long waiting lists of the UK system. Nor did Bermudians have to run the risk of being denied treatment if they could not pay, as in the US system.

The local system combined the best aspects of both UK and US systems, Sen.

Simons said.

The Hon. Grant Gibbons said priorities had to be set in the Ministry, because demand was increasing and resources were not.

The five-month delay in opening the new prison was due to problems with the security system. The sub-contractor was fixing it and hoped to have it "on line'' this month.

The sub-contractor had not "kept their end of the bargain up'', so Works and Engineering had asked for "liquidated damages''.

He said Government was focusing on the family with its new child and family services department.

Senate President the Hon. Albert Jackson said Bermuda needed to ask why prison inmates had committed crimes.

"We need to open the minds of our people to more constructive forms of behaviour.'' He was concerned at the number of violent attacks -- a "relatively new'' form of crime for Bermuda.

Sen. Swan told Sen. Scott there had not been an increase in demand for dental services. There had been difficulty in filling some posts, but she believed the department now had a full complement of staff.

Two more staff would be provided to cope with the workload of the new financial assistance department.

A second psychologist was on the way for the new prison, she said.

Addiction Services programmes were being reviewed, but demand varied and it was not possible or practicable to always meet it.

Sen. Milton Scott.

Sen. Michael Windfield.