I do not really agree with the Minister's response. First, he said it came from the pre-legislative scrutiny that there would be a warning system. The whole idea of having an offence dependent on a prior warning came from the Minister's Department, and I think we all struggled to figure out how that would work in practice. I do not think anybody provided a satisfactory answer to us and I do not think any of us was able to visualise how it would work, although we will be discussing that in the context of the next gr…

On a point of order-----

I move amendment No. 2: In page 7, between lines 15 and 16, to insert the following: “(6) The Minister shall, within one year of the passing of this Act, lay a report before both Houses of the Oireachtas, and the relevant committee, evaluating the effectiveness of the system for recording warnings issued by the Garda Síochána pursuant to subsection (1) .”. We discussed this issue at considerable length during a number of sessions of pre-legislative scrutiny. We also discussed it on Second Stage and we discussed it …

I thank everybody who has contributed to the debate on this group. The Minister talked about the need for a broader review; I agree with him. That will take some time. We have to allow some time to see the operation of the legislation. His amendment refers to, "the findings of the review and of the conclusions drawn from those findings and cause copies of the report to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas." It then states that, in conducting the review, he will consult with the Minister for Justice. It is ri…

I can only operate on the basis of the words in the Minister's amendment which state a review will be commenced after "not later than 18 months". There is no timeline for the length of the review. It also states that as soon as practicable after the completion of the review a report will be produced. This could be anything from two years up. This is my concern. I am saying we should not let this slide where there is quite serious doubt about the system of recording warnings to enable an offence to be prosecuted.

No, I did not say that.

I said that the Minister has stated several times that there is no system in place for recording a warning.

Yes.

That might be in Galway but not in Wexford, for example.

Let us see if it works. I hope it does work. Many of us have concerns about the feasibility of this. This is why I am saying that within 12 months we should get a report on the operation of this specific aspect of the legislation. It does not have to be a lengthy report or review. It is specifically on this aspect as to whether this works and whether the Garda has a system in place that is workable. This is all I am looking for. We all want to see this legislation being effective and put in place in a workable mann…

Is the Minister for Health coming back or has he left?

I am sorry to see that he is gone because this morning, "RTÉ Investigates" revealed that the Dental Council had written to the Government about what it termed the indefensible lack of regulation and legislative reform in respect of dentistry. In September it was revealed that several people practising dentistry in this country are unregistered, including one individual who has been convicted of sexual assault. We also know that in the past eight years, 37 dentists have worked in Ireland despite having been sanction…

I thank the Labour Party for tabling this motion. It is a very topical motion on what is a very pressing issue to which the Government needs to give urgent attention. The Social Democrats are very happy to support the motion. For over five years, a statutory right to home care has been promised and yet it still has not been delivered. We are told that work is ongoing but we still have no idea when the legislation will be published. It is becoming clear that there is no real sense of urgency about getting this over …

I was at a conference and I have only just arrived back. Are the amendments in this group all the Minister's amendments?

I welcome the Minister's decision in this regard. On the different opinions about opt-in and opt-out, does the Minister accept there are genuine issues there to be considered? Will all of those questions be considered in the review of the operation of the legislation? I wanted to check that with the Minister.

There is an issue about the messaging of all of this. A negative spin has been put on it by some media outlets, some individuals, and some organisations. That has partly created concern and doubt in people's minds. That is where the Irish Kidney Association is coming from on this. There is probably a bit of work to be done in terms of the messaging of this and the important role families have, ultimately. While the individual may have taken the decision it is ultimately the family who will make the final decision. …

I move amendment No. 7: In page 24, between lines 23 and 24, to insert the following: “Transplantation and Donation Audit 17. The Minister shall by way of regulation direct the Executive to publish an annual audit of the activities of procurement organisations and transplantation centres which includes: (a) The number of deaths in hospitals; (b) The number of potential donors; (c) The number of donors requested to donate; (d) The number of donors assessed as being medically suitable for donation and where donation …

The Minister is therefore on the record as saying there will be an expanded report, including all of those elements I listed in the amendment, and a clear commitment that it will be an annual report and that we will not have to wait a number of years to find out the progress of the programme. I am taking it that is what the Minister is saying on the record and we will come back to him if there is any slippage on that. On that basis, I am happy to withdraw that amendment.

I will speak to amendments Nos. 10 and 15 in the group. I agree we have been requested to consider future-proofing the legislation by providing for the possibility of a sharing or swap scheme. I am not qualified, and I do not think any of us is, to express a view on whether that is wise. On the face of it, however, it would seem to make sense, notwithstanding that we have a relatively small, albeit growing, population, that we may get to a point where we can have a sharing or swapping scheme. The current wording wo…

That is not my understanding of the Bill. I cannot dig out the reference but maybe the Minister can provide a reference to where the Bill allows for such a sharing or pairing scheme. I understand it is quite specific in referring to the intended recipient, which means there would be just one donor to the recipient rather than a potential pairing or swapping arrangement.