Joe O'Toole (Independent)

It would be very useful to get a clear outline of the position regarding the proposal made by Senator Brian Hayes. Every politician has been asked questions about this issue. It is not my intention to try to apportion blame to anybody in a one-hour or two-hour debate but we, as public representatives with a general responsibility to the public, need information about it. This information should be obtained either today or tomorrow. I am quite happy if the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children cannot come to the House to discuss the matter until tomorrow but we need to address this issue. Senator Brian Hayes is correct in stating that it is a topical issue which people are discussing and which involves political responsibility. We need updated information about it and an opportunity to put our views about it on the record. I look forward to the Leader's response to my request.

Another issue that has been to the fore over the past week is the relationship between lawyers and the Residential Institutions Redress Board of Ireland. We debated the establishment of the Personal Injuries Assessment Board, PIAB, last year and members should recall the briefing they received from the Law Society and the Bar Council about how we could not trust the PIAB, of which I am vice-chairman, without lawyers. This House correctly took the position that we should offer people the opportunity to engage with the PIAB without recourse to lawyers. Increasing numbers of people are now doing so. The Leader raised a question regarding the PIAB in the House in May 2005. I said on that occasion that the annual report of the PIAB would be ready by now. The board has now processed approximately 500 cases and will make a presentation to the Joint Committee on Enterprise and Small Business tomorrow morning. Its annual report could be discussed by the House.

The PIAB was delivered by the political system and every party can claim some credit for it. Among those who had a major involvement in the creation of the board were former Deputy Ivan Yates, Deputy Pat Rabbitte, the Tánaiste when she was Minister for Enterprise and Employment and Deputy Martin when he was Minister for Health and Children. The PIAB has proved to be successful but we should remember the importance of the line we took about respecting the position of lawyers without being completely tied in to them. It also raises the issue, which we should discuss in the near future, of whether the regulation of lawyers is carried out appropriately and whether we need another form of regulation or an overarching body.