Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I raise the issue of the legislative backlog in respect of each Department and the Government list in regard to the areas in respect of which there is a need for legislation.

More than 100 Bills are on the list and, at a time when there is a shortage of work in the legal profession and especially at the Bar, it may be time to examine the process of how legislation is drafted and whether some of the work could be farmed out to expedite the process. It is important to move on with the many changes required in this country and in the systems running the country. These changes require legislative change but it is not happening quickly enough because the Office of the Attorney General does not have enough people available to draft legislation even though the staff of the office are dedicated, hard working and committed. I ask that this matter be reviewed to see whether we can develop new ways to bring legislation to both Houses of the Oireachtas more quickly.

The issue of the management of the health care sector, which will be raised in tomorrow's debate on the Health Service Executive (Governance) Bill, is important. I ask for the debate not to be guillotined and for adequate time to be given to allow everyone to contribute.