Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

This is the issue I raised last week. It is the meeting of 15 April, if I recall it correctly. Deputy Gilmore may not recall that I raised this last week and the Taoiseach provided the information to another Deputy in this House while transferring my question to the Minister for Education and Skills. He provided the information regarding that meeting in a parliamentary reply the same day to a Deputy from his own party on the backbenches. I referred the matter to the Committee on Procedures and Privileges because it is absolutely unacceptable.

This is a serious matter relating to the provision of replies. That instance shows a two-tier attitude of the Department of the Taoiseach in responding to Deputies' parliamentary questions. Deputies Kenny and Gilmore referred to the wider issue in that we are not getting responses in the main to parliamentary questions tabled to a raft of different Departments. Those of us who are spokespersons for health are well used to our parliamentary questions being kicked to touch for anything up to four months by the Minister for Health and Children but now a much graver position applies across a range of Departments.

It is a serious matter. The responsibility in the first instance lies with respective Ministers, to whom the questions are put. They have a responsibility to provide the answers and my experience is that the answers can be provided to some Deputies while being refused to others. Deputy Gilmore has already indicated that he had exactly the same experience, which is totally unacceptable. I urge that the matter be addressed with the required urgency.

As I have the opportunity on the Order of Business, I wanted to raise two matters relating to promised legislation. This is also against the backdrop of my earlier request on the ordering of business as to whether the Minister for Health and Children would be called to give account of the reasons for a decision - and what steps will be taken to reverse this - to have the HSE advise all dental practices that they will no longer be in a position to provide dental treatment-----

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