Déirdre de Búrca (Green Party)

I welcome the Minister. I intend to make only a brief statement regarding the Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2007, particularly because a great deal has already been said and owing to the fact that the legislation is technical in nature. I accept, and the Minister acknowledged earlier, that there is a sense of urgency regarding the introduction of the Bill which is, in a sense, emergency legislation. It is far from ideal that we are rushing the Bill through in this way but there is a strong rationale behind the need to do so.

In future, legislation should be drafted in such a way that there will not be a need to revisit it. Difficulties arise from time to time, however, and the advice from the Attorney General is that primary legislation is needed to confirm the orders which established 19 bodies under the Health (Corporate Bodies) Act 1961. If the Bill were not introduced, those bodies could be vulnerable to legal challenge. It is important for that reason to support the legislation. The 19 bodies established under the 1961 Act include the former Blood Transfusion Services Board, now the Irish Blood Transfusion Service, the Health Research Board, the Crisis Pregnancy Agency and the boards of St. James's, Beaumont and St. Luke's hospitals.

Another major reason for supporting the legislation is because it will address what have been perceived as inadequacies or shortcomings in the Medical Practitioners Act 2007 and the Health Act 2004. The Medical Practitioners Act 2007 was welcomed by all parties because the intent behind it was to improve patient safety through improved regulation of the medical profession. The Act introduced welcome new measures such as a lay majority on the Medical Council and also new measures to assess doctors' competence on an ongoing basis. There is, however, as others stated, a need to implement the provisions of this Act on a phased basis. The Bill will enable such a phased implementation to be carried out.

For the reasons I have outlined, the Green Party supports the Bill. Claims have been made with regard to what the Bill involves. The legislation is not concerned with ushering in any other policy, it is largely technical in nature and the Green Party supports it.