Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I refer to the proposed legislation relating to the opt-out from organ donation. This matter has been debated time and again during the past five years and it is my understanding the legislation was to be introduced some time ago. I now understand it is going through the Cabinet. Has the Leader received any indication of the likely time when it will be introduced? The legislation is important, as we are way behind other jurisdictions when it comes to organ transplants. The idea behind the legislation is that people would have to register to opt out. I am raising this issue because the number on dialysis continues to increase and it represents a major cost to the State. On average, a person has to attend hospital on at least three occasions each week. There are over 250,000 attendances per annum. If there were more kidney transplants, the number of occasions on which people would have to attend hospital for dialysis would reduce drastically. Will the Leader outline to Senators whether it will be September or October before we are likely to see the legislation?

Will the Leader indicate whether there is any proposal to sit during the month of August?