Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

On promised legislation from the Department of Health and Children, the Minister of which is seated beside the Tánaiste, 11 Bills are listed, five of which use the wording "not possible to indicate" to detail when they will be published. This is just short of 50%. Only one is to be published this spring and three are expected to be published in 2009, two of which were expected to be published in the previous term. Although the publication of another two Bills had been set at a specific date, it is now not possible to indicate when that will occur. The legislative performance of the Department of Health and Children and its Minister is ragged.

Why have the health (corporate bodies) Bill and the public health (miscellaneous provisions) Bill, both of which were listed in the previous autumn legislative programme as being expected for publication this year, been marked as "not possible to indicate" in addition to the eligibility for health and personal social services Bill that I raised with the Taoiseach yesterday? The situation of the Department and promised legislation is serious and cannot be highlighted often enough if greater attention to it is to be encouraged. Why is it no longer possible to indicate when important promised legislation will be published?

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