Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

I wish to raise two matters. First, members of the Cystic Fibrosis Association of Ireland are protesting outside the House this morning in connection with the failure of the Government to honour a commitment given that a unit would be provided for sufferers of cystic fibrosis at St. Vincent's Hospital. The promise was that the unit would be provided in 2010, but the Government has reneged on that commitment. Does the Government intend to honour the commitment it gave that the unit would be provided by 2010?

Second, the committee which has been dealing with the issue of the protection of children sent a report to the House on 8 September 2008 and recommended that legislation be presented by Government to the House to legislate for the protection of children. The committee recommended specifically that the legislation should be presented in the following parliamentary session, which would have been the session between September and Christmas. The legislation did not and has not yet appeared. When will it be presented to the House?

See this speech in context