Mr. Eugene Lennon:

Originally we understood the Private Members' Bill would be dealt with by the committee in April and we were not prepared to go into it in any detail today. When it was discussed on Second Stage in the Dáil before Christmas the Minister stated he had some concerns about the Bill, particularly with regard to Part 12 and the removal of cannabis from the Misuse of Drugs Act. The Bill does not propose to move it from one schedule to another but to remove it from the Misuse of Drugs Act, which would have the effect of decriminalising cannabis for all purposes and not just medicinal purposes. It is also worth noting the Bill tends to circumvent the system for the regulation of medicines as it stands. We are not speaking about authorised medicines going through the normal regulatory system, which exists to ensure medicines are safe for public use, we are speaking about a separate system for cannabis products. The committee will deal with the Bill at a later date and we will go into it more detail section by section then. These are general points. We all know how long it takes to legislate at present. We began the injecting rooms Bill several weeks ago and it is still on Second Stage. The Private Members' Bill to which the Deputy referred went through very rapidly. I wish my injecting rooms Bill could go through as rapidly. Legislation takes time.