Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I also commend Deputy Kenny for tabling this legislation. We in Sinn Féin support the Bill and its passage to Committee Stage. In response to the comments of Deputy Harty, I believe it is very disingenuous of any Member of this House to suggest that Deputy Kenny has put forward this Bill as a Trojan horse to try to allow for the legalisation of cannabis for recreational purposes. I believe that does no service to the debate that we are having. From the outset, this debate has been about the provision of cannabis for medicinal purposes. If there were any unintended consequences in the drafting of this legislation, Deputy Kenny has already given a commitment to the Minister for Health that they will be addressed on Committee Stage. Deputy Kenny might clarify that himself if he gets the opportunity. For anyone to suggest that this debate is about anything other than the provision of cannabis for medicinal purposes has either not listened to the discourse of the debate over the last number of months or is intentionally trying to muddy the waters in terms of what is being proposed tonight.

It is even more disappointing given that the Deputy in question is the Chairman of the Joint Committee on Health, which is overseeing the deliberations on the provision of medicinal cannabis. I completely accept the bona fides of Deputy Harty when he said that he wants to see the provision of cannabis for medicinal purposes. There is no division in the House on that. If that is the common ground that we can all focus on, then I ask Deputy Harty to consider not objecting to the legislation and to let it progress to Committee Stage. Any concerns he may have with the legislation may be addressed on Committee Stage.

We have a commitment from the Minister on a timeline. In the almost seven years I have been a Deputy, getting commitment from a Minister on a timeline is a very difficult thing to do. We have such a commitment from the Minister, Deputy Harris, on the timelines around the debate on the provision of cannabis for medicinal purposes. We will have a HPRA report. Deputy Harty was present at the committee when it was discussed with Ms Lorraine Nolan, the chief executive of the HPRA. She discussed the very strict terms of reference under which she is working. I believe the report will be published on time. She said as much in her own contribution to the committee.

I accept the bona fides of the Minister with regard to the legislation. That is probably a first as well because it is very unusual for Opposition Deputies to accept the word of a Minister. However, on this issue I know that the Minister, Deputy Harris, is very supportive of the cause, which is the provision of cannabis for medicinal purposes. I know that is his own personal view and that he has probably worked very hard behind the scenes at Cabinet level to ensure that is also the Government position, no more so than I have had to work at my own party level to make sure this was the position we took tonight.

I encourage and implore Deputy Harty not to divide the House on this issue. To do so would send out the wrong message to those patients and carers who are hanging on this debate to get some hope that this issue can finally be resolved in a very unified, cross-party way, which would again be very unique in terms of legislation that is dealt with by the House.

I have no doubt that the report will come in on time. We cannot pre-empt the report but one of the recommendations may be that we will not even need primary legislation to enable this to happen, as the Minister, Deputy Harris, has said. This may be able to happen as secondary legislation via a statutory instrument. I believe that we should await that report.

I have spoken to Deputy Kenny about the legislation. We have some concerns around the agencies which are being proposed. We believe it should come under the remit of the HPRA. When Deputy Kenny was drafting the legislation, I am sure that it was not his intention to set up a quango. He is probably the last person in the Oireachtas who would want to set up a quango.

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