Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is unfortunate this amendment cannot be taken on board. Failure to do so affects the credibility of the Bill and what it seeks to achieve. What it seeks to achieve is positive, and failure to accept this amendment weakens that and the credibility of the Bill, and it is wrong. The argument has been put forward that this is a temporary arrangement. The Minister said that the new agency will come into place in 2015 or 2016. Senator Norris highlighted the fact that God knows who will be Minister for Health or what Government will be in place then. I do not consider that to be a temporary period. That is the length of a political career for some people-----