Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I hear the points Deputies Maureen O'Sullivan and Ó Snodaigh have made. The Minister of State should justify her opposition to this. I do not think we should fear the Dáil discussing this every two years or having a report come before it with regard to how it is working, what the issues might be and how we can make it work better in the context of rehabilitation and harm reduction. I am not sure why there is an attempt to exclude from this legislation the opportunity for the Dáil to make the regulations that underpin it more effective for the people this Bill is trying to help. We all know there are a lot of legislative items on which a Minister must report to the Dáil on an annual basis or every two years with regard to various health matters. It is recorded in the Dáil. Sometimes there is a debate and sometimes there is not. The amendment is worthy of consideration. We are not changing the thrust of this Bill; we are just saying that the Dáil could potentially make it better. Without leaving executive control completely in the Bill, we are saying that the Dáil could have a discussion every two years to make it work better and see how it is doing. It would also be an opportunity to improve the legislation and regulations for the very people we are trying to help. I think it is a very reasoned and fair amendment. I am not sure why the Government is opposing it.

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