Fergal Browne (Fine Gael)

I move amendment No. 1:

In page 3, lines 33 to 36 and in page 4, lines 1 to 27, to delete paragraph (b).

I welcome the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children and her officials to the House. This amendment will ultimately remove the scientific tests for hepatitis C for people and leave matters as they were before, that is, dependent on clinical diagnosis which seems to have worked very well in the past. There were problems with the testing. The Tánaiste has admitted that the ELISA test is not fully satisfactory for people with hepatitis C and might not pick up on the condition. We would prefer to leave matters as they were. We believe that clinical diagnosis has worked well in the past and could do so, again, in the future.