Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)

It is not primary legislation, it is secondary legislation.

When will the sale of alcohol Bill come before the House? It is urgently required in light of the fact next year is the third anniversary of the enactment of the Criminal Justice Act 2006. Since then, on average of one ASBO a year has been introduced for children and one ASBO per year for adults. It is clear that legislation has failed because of a failure to implement it by the current Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform and his predecessor.

The eligibility for health and personal social services Bill is also promised. Will the Taoiseach intervene in the mess that has been created with medical cards? No one is answering phones or processing applications in north Dublin. This causes huge trauma for the elderly around the country. Some of these people are confined to bed in nursing homes and they are getting letters to tell them their medical cards are being withdrawn. They are relying on visits from neighbours and relative to pursue this. They cannot get a straight answer from the agency in north Dublin. It is an unmitigated mess. The Minister for Health and Children must at least state that she will not dump more medical card applications into that system, which is what she plans to do from next April.

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