I have one question to the Minister, although I do not know if he has the information available. Roughly how many cases since 1978 have not been prosecuted because of the non-registration of medical practitioners? My background is in the legal profession and I listened to many Senators talk about it.
Medical Practitioners (Amendment) Bill, 1993: Committee and Final Stages.
Section 1 agreed to.
SECTION 2.
Question proposed: "That section 2 stand part of the Bill.
I thought I stood up for it.
The Senator did, indeed. Well done. I often wonder about the number of constituents who consult with my colleagues on the other side of the House without revealing all the truth and ask them to make representations on their behalf to various Ministers and Departments. The legal profession has a job to do and it is up to the other side to prove guilt. I suggest it is unfair——
And naive.
——and naive to say that the legal profession should be blamed for serious accidents and drunken driving. I would be interested to know if the Minister has any data on the number of cases not prosecuted because of the non-registration of medical practitioners.
My advisers are from the Department of Health and that information is held in the Department of the Environment. The Senator will have time to tease out all those details when the Road Traffic Bill comes before the House.
If I may comment on the Senator's general point about the legal profession. I agree that everybody is entitled to the best defence available. The Government has a responsibility to make the law as watertight as it can, that is its job. We have an adversarial system where the prosecution prosecutes a case and the defence defends the individual. There are different systems and different models elsewhere. In France the person would prove his innocence and is presumed to have a case to answer. Our system is adversarial and the person is entitled to the best defence. Where it can be argued before a judge or jury that all the intricacies of the law have not been complied with, then it is the responsibility of the Houses of the Oireachtas, with the President's signature, to ensure that the law is as clear and a watertight as we can make it.
Question put and agreed to.
Sections 3 to 6, inclusive, agreed to.
Title agreed to.
Bill reported without amendment, received for final consideration and passed.