Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)

I also have serious concerns with regard to this aspect of the Bill and I ventilated them on Report Stage. Like Deputies Ó Caoláin and Reilly, I am disappointed that an additional amendment was not introduced in the Seanad so that provision could be made for the extra safeguards we are seeking.

It is fine to state that Nationwide Health Solutions employs trained psychiatric nurses. However, there is no safeguard in the legislation which will ensure that this continues to be the case in the future. In addition, there is no indication with regard to how long this legislation will remain in operation.

Is it not the case that the contract relating to the kind of work done by Nationwide Health Solutions must be put out to tender? If so, is it not possible that another company might tender for the work and that said company, because there would be no obligation on it to do so, might not employ trained psychiatric nurses? When other aspects of health care, such as, for example, the cleaning of hospitals, were privatised, companies competed against each other in order to obtain the work at the lowest price. This sometimes prompts concerns with regard to the standards that might apply. In this instance, I do not know if there is an obligation to open up the work in question to companies other than that which possesses the contract at present. However, that is often the case with regard to work which is paid for out of public moneys.

Assurances must be provided to the effect that a range of other companies will not seek to be given this work. All such companies would need would be a few strong men who are able to hold people down. If the latter were the case, we would not be protecting the interests and well-being of the patients concerned who, by their nature, are vulnerable because they are being taken against their will to a place in which they have no desire to be.

This is an extremely delicate matter and I am concerned about what we are allowing to happen in the legislation. While I accept that amendments Nos. 1 to 3, inclusive, do not deal with the substantive issue we are concerned about, one of them relates to the commencement of the relevant section of the Bill. It would be appropriate, therefore, to deal with the substantive issue in the context of that amendment. Will the Minister of State indicate if there is a date in respect of the commencement of the section to which I refer? As I understand it, various sections of the Bill will be commenced at different times.

Our concerns are genuine. I do not know if in-depth consideration was given to them prior to the rushed introduction of the relevant amendment on Report Stage. We were only informed of this at the end of Committee Stage because the amendment did not arise out of Committee Stage proceedings. We did not, therefore, have the normal opportunity to debate it at length. I hope the Minister of State is in a position to provide the assurances we are seeking. However, I would much prefer to have those assurances included in the legislation so that they might act as a safeguard and protect the well-being of the vulnerable patients concerned.

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