Cecilia Keaveney (Fianna Fail)

I understand legislation is due to be introduced prior to March 2009. Like Senator Wilson, however, I am of the view that the matter should be expedited. I previously served as Chairman of the Oireachtas committee charged with dealing with the issue of drugs. Members of that committee visited New Zealand, where the so-called party pill has become a scourge and where serious problems have arisen. The key players in the New Zealand judiciary and police service are extremely concerned with regard to what occurred there. This drug is only beginning to become popular here and we should not allow it to gain a foothold. Will the Leader ask the relevant Minister to expedite the introduction of legislation to which I refer?

Will the Leader also make time available for a debate on infection control services? It has been brought to my attention that people — young children, adults and the elderly — who contract MRSA in hospitals are being released from care and their families are obliged to fight in order to have them screened and treated. Those responsible for infection control services appear to be of the view that once a person has been discharged from hospital, his or her illness is then a matter to be dealt with by the community at large. If one contracts MRSA while in hospital and if one is discharged, one will end up passing that infection on to others in the community. It is the responsibility of those who run the services within the HSE to ensure that people who acquire infections in hospitals must be screened and treated until such time as they can be given the all clear.

Will the Leader make time available for the debate to which I refer? Will he also ask the HSE to ensure that people who contract infections while in hospital and their families will be screened and treated in order that they will not become a danger to their communities? Ongoing screening and treatment for these individuals will allay the concerns of others.