Liam Twomey (Fine Gael)

In May 2005, "Prime Time" exposed to the entire country what was happening at Leas Cross. Going on information supplied to me by the Leader of the House it will be June 2008, more than three years later, before the Garda Síochána will consider a criminal investigation into what happened at Leas Cross. In light of what we read about the report into the Brothers of Charity, which was published yesterday, no reason exists for the Garda Síochána not to investigate what happened at Leas Cross while a report is being compiled. Work on a report and a Garda investigation can be concurrent. Will the Leader ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform whether a specific reason exists for delaying by three years the investigation into the serious allegations made about Leas Cross?

Will the House support the establishment of a statutory and independent patient safety authority? A serious problem exists in the ethos of the Irish health care services. Many Members on both sides of the House have expressed concern about what is going on in the Health Service Executive. The only way we can change this ethos is through establishing a patient safety authority. We have the Financial Regulator and all the services which go with it to protect people's investments and money. However, we do not have a specific organisation to look after patients' interests.

The Garda Síochána states it does not have the resources nor possibly the legislation to support it in achieving successful prosecutions with regard to the cocaine epidemic we have. Perhaps the contribution of the House should be to look outside the box for solutions. Members of the House have already called for mandatory drug testing throughout society or at traffic stops. The House should debate concerns associated with mandatory drug testing and whether it is a good idea or an over-the-top response to the drugs problem. A debate of this nature would assist society. We will not know if mandatory drug testing is a good or bad idea until we have a proper debate.