Mark Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I would ask the Deputy Leader to clarify to the House the position on the human tissue Bill. She might recall that during the summer we sat for a day to debate the issue of organ donation and in the course of that debate, a number of statements were made including the following - by the acting Minister of Health, because, apparently, the Minister was on holidays - that the heads of the human tissue Bill were being drafted by the Department and that, in addition to the area of organ donation and transplantation, the Bill will cover a large range of issues. I believe Members made these statements in good faith because they were told that the human tissue Bill was due to come before the Oireachtas in the following parliamentary session, that is, the one just gone. That statement was made by a Senator on the opposite side of the House. It was stated that the Minister, Deputy Reilly, and the Minister of State, Deputy White, were working on the human tissue Bill that was out for public consultation. Another Member opposite stated that the human tissue Bill would continue the Government's work in this area in the autumn. What is happening the human tissue Bill? According to the legislative programme for the coming session, as to the status of the Bill, the date on which publication is expected cannot be indicated at this stage. Those are only some of the statements made by Members opposite in the debate on organ transplantation and donation held in August last. Perhaps the whip of the Fine Gael Party could get clarification as to why his members were misled. They did not mislead the House; they were given information that the human tissue Bill would be published in the autumn session last year and that did not happen.

One would expect the Whip to demand that the human tissue Bill be dealt with in this session, yet the legislative programme shows that the heads of the Bill have yet to be approved despite the fact that the Minister of State, Deputy Alex White, stated the legislation would be ready last session. Will the Whip or acting Whip let us know when the Bill will arrive in this House? Perhaps he will seek clarification as to why the members of Fine Gael and Labour were misled and given information that the Bill, which according to the Minister of State was to solve all the organ donation and transplantation problems, did not appear when they were told it would appear. It is not going to appear this session either.