Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

As I said earlier, the Supreme Court has ruled that the Health (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill is unconstitutional. I have had no chance to talk to anybody about it, as all I have received is a note informing me that there has been a 93-page judgment. I welcome the clarity which the court's ruling will bring. When the meeting of the Council of State took place, the Tánaiste and I said it was better to get this issue clarified. It had been around for 20 years in one form or another, this ruling now deals with it and we will have to examine it. The legal problems arising from the method of charging medical card holders for long-term institutional care goes back many years, at least to 1976. This is obviously a complex area of law. The Minister for Health and Children, together with myself and her colleagues in the Government, will study today's judgment very carefully. I am not in a position to say at this time whether further legislation may be required in this matter. I understand the Tánaiste will be happy to make a statement to the House later today, in consultation with the Whips. We will just have to check with the Whips to see if it can be arranged.

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