Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)

The situation there is very serious. We have lost the accident and emergency service and it is causing great concern as we go into the winter months. I will ask the Minister to consider that.

Second, I do not expect a reply from the Leader today but will he examine the situation regarding the Lisbon treaty? Under the Lisbon treaty this House was required to scrutinise European legislation. That has not been the case since our election to the House. In fact, the European affairs committee is no longer scrutinising legislation. The foreign affairs and some other joint committees are scrutinising it. However, the legislation is building up and an enormous amount is not being given proper scrutiny in either House.

Only this House or the Dáil can refer legislation back through a system of rejection or reconsideration. Will the Leader consider this matter and see if we can devote, perhaps, one day every two weeks to European legislation? We could sit on a Thursday or Friday to do so. Perhaps the Leader would ask his advisers to examine this issue and see if we could accommodate the scrutiny of legislation from Europe. I do not believe any committee has knowledge that is equal to what is available in this House. All the committees' members are nominated but this House represents the entire country and its different views.