John Dardis (Progressive Democrats)

I expressed the view on Second Stage that I could not understand how the word "disability" had appeared in the Bill as initiated and, as a result, that I would not be able to support it. There was a generally negative reaction to the use of the word in the Bill. The legislation was amended in this House, for those of us who were here, and a narrower definition was inserted, under the Mental Health Acts. That too was reviewed in the Dáil and has been further refined and changed. We need to be aware that this is a justice Bill, not a health Bill. While technical medical dimensions arise, the reason for the Bill is a High Court judgment concerning documents.

The explanatory memorandum stated that the changes were minimal. I do not see how the operation of the Bill will change. There was only one reason for bringing it before us and it has had to be amended. I said that the amendment made in the Dáil in respect of section 4 and the inclusion of the Schedule, as brought before this House, was a reasonable way of dealing with the matter. It is curious that there is a desire to regulate people leaving their countries, but not coming into this country; different standards apply. The Government has a duty of care to its citizens. Everybody agrees there must be some level of protection, including Schizophrenia Ireland which recognises the critical need for such legislation. It acknowledges the Minister's hard work in a letter to him of 9 February 2004, which was also circulated to Members.

The need for the legislation is accepted but the question arises of how to define the limited circumstances under which someone might be refused entry. Major infectious diseases regulated by the World Health Assembly of the World Health Organisation must be dealt with globally, not just within this country. These might include SARS, avian flu and so on. HIV is the cause of a serious communicable disease but are we going to say that everyone should have a blood test at the airport? I doubt that is the Government's intention. There must be some basic measure to protect the health of our citizens. Senator Henry has not suggested otherwise. She has suggested that all those infectious diseases must be dealt with.