Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)

On the same issue, we have been told that the fair deal legislation will probably be published within the next two weeks. Can the Tánaiste tell the House what it will be called? In the legislative programme for the summer 2008 session, it was referred to as the health (long-term residential care services) Bill. Its name had changed to the nursing homes support scheme Bill, however, by the time the schedule for the autumn 2008 session was published. Not only did it have a different name, but the description of the Bill had also changed. It was originally described as a Bill to "provide for a new scheme of financial support for persons requiring residential care in public and private nursing homes". It has now been described as a Bill to "enable financial support to be made available to people in long term residential care out of resources allocated to the HSE, to provide for an amendment to the Health Act 1970 and related matters". Does the rewording of the description of the proposed legislation indicate that there has been a substantial change in its contents? If such a change is to be made, does it arise from certain constitutional issues? Have the contents of the Bill been changed in the manner suggested by the rewording of the relevant section of the Government's legislative programme?

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