Fergal Browne (Fine Gael)

Committee, Report and Final Stages of the Pharmacy Bill will be taken today. If Committee Stage is completed, will it be possible to have a break to enable us to submit amendments for Report and Final Stages? It is unusual to deal with all those Stages together and normally it does not happen in this House. This is a important Bill and involves many serious issues. It is also unusual that the Government has tabled 50 or 60 amendments to the Bill, which we only received at 8.30 p.m. last night. In saying that I am not being critical of the Bills Office but of the Government. It published the Bill, announced straightaway that it would bring forward amendments on it and only published them at the last minute, which does not give the Opposition and other interested parties time to study them in detail. If we complete Committee Stage, I request the Leader to provide time for a short break to enable us to submit amendments for Report and Final Stages and thereby do the Bill and our job in this House some justice.

I agree with Senator Norris's point on the Department of Education and Science and the ownership of schools. What he said was news to me, I having been a primary school teacher. I was concerned to hear on radio this morning that the Department of Education and Science is writing to potential claimants and people who claim to be victims of abuse in schools threatening that unless they retract their claims they will face financial ruin similar to the case mentioned by Senator Norris. This is unusual. I have never heard of anyone behaving in this manner and one would not expect a Department to behave like that. The Leader might investigate the matter. It also raises a serious question about the ownership of schools. The fact that the church owns such a large number of schools leaves us vulnerable, given that the church body has become elderly and, unfortunately, many of them are selling schools, which have become valuable.

The scenario painted by Senator White about the petrol stations might well and perhaps is being replicated in terms of schools. The religious orders realise their property is valuable and they may decide to sell it, which would leave parents and students in a difficult position. It is an issue we must address and have clarified by the Minister for Education and Science.