Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Senator Colm Burke has been active in trying to ensure we have Members of this House on that committee. It is critical that we do, not least because we have medical and health expertise on all sides of the House and across a variety of spectrums of the health service, which can bring added value to that committee. I hope Fianna Fáil will work with us, and that na Seanadoirí ó phairtí Shinn Féin will work with their party leadership and whips, to ensure the vote which was deferred today in the Dáil will take place and will be inclusive of Members on all sides of the House.

With regard to legislation, let me assure the Senator that the Government side of the House has requested that Bills start from this House. The Government legislative programme has 25 Government Bills this session and I would love to have Bills from this side of the House. However, as the Senator knows, as he has been here as long as me, pre-legislative scrutiny has now come in and that is stalling legislation.