Mary Henry (Independent)

The former Minister for Education and Science established the Lefoy Commission to examine the issue of abuse of children placed in residential care by the State. I understand that the progress of the commission is very slow, not because of Ms Justice Laffoy, but because it faces constant legal challenge. I have read reports that some of those waiting to be seen by the commission have taken their own lives, so this is a serious matter. I ask the Leader to arrange for the Minister to attend the House to outline the progress made by the commission.

Since the relevant legislation on the BreastCheck programme was introduced by the then Minister for Health, Deputy Noonan, I have been asking when a population register will be introduced. Most countries have such a register and if we had one we would have information on matters which have caused difficulties, such as the lack of knowledge on the number of medical card holders.

I spoke about this in the past when it was the responsibility of the current Minister for Transport, Deputy Brennan. I presume that it now comes under the remit of the Minister for the Environment and Local Government, Deputy Cullen. A population register is necessary in order to know the details of the country's population. It led to the Department of Health and Children running into trouble when it emerged that there were far more people than expected aged 70 years and over and, therefore, eligible for a medical card.