Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

Deputy Shatter set out the reasons this proposal cannot be agreed to. The Health (Amendment) Bill 2010 is deeply flawed. The proposal is for Second Stage to conclude at 4.45 p.m. and Committee and Remaining Stages to conclude at 5.30 p.m. While the review group comprises people of outstanding ability, the changes contained in the Bill will continue a stream of information between the HSE and the Minister, information that will then be kept secret and not published. In the interests of finding out what happened to children in care and children at risk, this situation is not acceptable.

As I pointed out previously, were the Government to engage in a proper consultative process with an Oireachtas legislative committee before introducing legislation such as this, this situation would not arise in the first place. Instead, there would be political reaction on the broad elements of what is involved. Irrespective of who produced the Bill, it is inadequate. Forcing a guillotine on such a sensitive issue and a deeply flawed Bill is wrong. For this and other reasons, I oppose the 5.30 p.m. guillotine being applied to No. 6.

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