Frank Feighan (Fine Gael)

I am conscious of the time constraints. The original Opticians Act of 1956 was introduced by the late Mr. Tom O'Higgins on behalf of the coalition Government. Prior work on the legislation was done by Dr. Ryan of the previous Government. At a time such as this we should accord recognition to that work. It was not necessary to revisit the legislation for more than 48 years.

I thank the Minister for tabling amendment No. 6—