Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I warmly welcome the Commissioner. I hope his name is being pronounced properly, as people sometimes have difficulty pronouncing my name here at home.

I listened to the Commissioner very carefully and he spoke about identifying another "P" in the form of "participation". I give him credit, as another "P" has struck me that applies to his presentation and what I believe is a sincere and genuine personal commitment: it is "passion". He demonstrated a passion this morning in his presentation and the briefing notes, and his very sincerely held interest in health protection measures is something which we welcome and on which we commend him. We wish him continued success in his endeavours across the European Union in this regard.

Prior to our meeting this morning, we agreed to apportion responsibility to particular areas. It falls to me to be the first the speak, and I am anxious to address two matters briefly that are not part of his presentation. I do not expect a detailed answer today but I wonder if the Commissioner and his colleagues could revert at some point about these two areas of particular concern to us with a European dimension. The first relates to medical devices and the sector which develops medical technology. It is a very important sector in Ireland. The genesis of our concern goes back to 2012 and the advent of breast implant prostheses by Poly Implant Prothèse, PIP. The Commissioner might be aware of this. They were manufactured in and supplied from the Continent, and although the consequences were not unique to Ireland, there were adverse effects. We know that subsequently two draft Bills were presented. It is of great concern to women in this country as to why there has been a delay. We are now in 2015. Is the Commissioner in a position to share with us at what point the draft legislation is? We need to see the sector properly regulated and we want to ensure that every measure is employed to avoid a recurrence at any point in future. Is the Commissioner able to shed any light as to the current status of the proposals contained therein? The committee is kept informed of developments in the European Union across the health sector and we are anxiously awaiting greater evidence of movement in this respect. This question is not only in the interest of Irish women but the Irish population in general. Not only does it take in medical implants for female use, but there are issues across the board relating to medical devices. It must be seen in the round and holistically.

My second issue relates to what we unfortunately refer to as "legal highs" or substances that are mind-altering. In 2010, we introduced legislation - it is unique among all member states of the European Union - banning the import, distribution and sale of mind-altering substances. There had been a proliferation of what were described as head shops in towns across this country. As a result of the introduction of that legislation, they have, by and large, been closed. However, access to these substances continues through the Internet and we are anxious to encourage the addressing of this issue across the European Union. There is no way we can domestically address the use of the Internet. We must tackle the issue on a shared basis at the very least, and even a European basis may not be enough. If the European Union gave the lead in this respect, the positive consequences would be significant. Will the Commissioner comment on that during the course of today's visit? I thank him for his presentation.