Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Tá ceist amháin agam faoi reachtaíocht atá geallta agus a bhaineann leis an Acht Sláinte 2007 - the Health Act 2007. In February the Minister for Health said he planned to introduce new legislation to give more power to HIQA and to do this by amending the Health Act 2007.

HIQA's latest report underlines the urgency of the new legislation promised by the Minister. The report into the unnecessary death of babies in Portlaoise hospital, which the HSE strenuously sought to suppress, makes for grim and depressing reading. It is another damning investigation of our health service which reveals repeated failures and non-compliance in national health care standards by the hospital in question and the HSE. This represents a failure on the part of the Government. The big responsibility may rest with the HSE but the Government failed to take account of HIQA recommendations in a series of reports, as well as in questions I put to the Taoiseach and the Minister for Health regarding a letter I received from HIQA. The Minister rightly indicated that he intends to grant additional powers to HIQA by amending the health Acts. When will the Government publish legislation to meet the Minister's commitment to extend the remit of HIQA and when will it put in place a legislative mechanism - this is the big problem - to implement the recommendations made by HIQA in a series of reports?

In the context of the Government's obligations under the Good Friday Agreement and its commitment in the programme for Government to fully implement that Agreement, the British Government has announced its decision to repeal the Human Rights Act and remove the European Convention on Human Rights from British law. That would be a grievous breach of the Good Friday Agreement, which is an international treaty between Ireland and Britain lodged with the UN. Under the Agreement the British Government has committed to completing the incorporation of the European Convention on Human Rights into law in the North and to introducing safeguards so that the Assembly and public authorities in the North cannot infringe on the convention. Other safeguards also apply to policing. Is the Taoiseach aware of this issue and did he raise it with Mr. Cameron given that the proposal is clearly in breach of the Agreement and the international treaty underpinning it? If he has not done so already, will he immediately raise the issue with the British Government and urgently initiate discussions with all of the parties to the Agreement?

See this speech in context