Limerick East): Members of the Seanad will be aware that the Health (Provisions of Information) Bill, 1997, passed all Stages here on 13 March. The Bill provides for the establishment of population registers for programmes of cancer screening and safeguards the position of the National Cancer Registry Board in relation to the obtaining of certain data from hospitals. During the Seanad debate a number of Members were of the view that the Bill should be extended beyond its original scope of screening for breast and cervical cancer so that other appropriate cancer screening programmes could also be covered. I undertook to take legal advice on an appropriate wording and introduce an amendment covering this issue in the Dáil.
Last night the Dáil passed all Stages of the Bill which includes the amendments I promised in the Seanad. It now applies to any programme of screening for cancer authorised by the Minister for Health. It can be applied immediately to the screening programmes for breast and cervical cancer which I have already announced and may in future be applied to any screening programmes for other forms of cancer which have been authorised by the Minister. As I mentioned to this House on 13 March, these programmes were not to be authorised unless it was established that they were medically effective.
Since the Seanad debate I have also had the opportunity to consider the wording of other aspects of the Bill. As originally drafted it referred specifically to "national" programmes of screening for cancer. However, it was pointed out to me that there may be good reasons for establishing locally based or regional screening programmes which may or may not subsequently be organised on a national basis. It would be unsatisfactory, therefore, if the wording of the Bill operated to preclude the establishment of appropriate local screening programmes. I, therefore, introduced an amendment to the Bill removing any reference to national programmes. This was accepted by the Dáil.
Finally, on legal advice from the parliamentary draftsman, I proposed an amendment which inserted the words "the Minister for Health" at section 1(2)(a). This was also accepted by the Dáil.
I thank Senators, particularly Senator Finneran who brought this matter to our attention in the first instance and did not press it on the understanding that I would amend the Bill in Dáil Éireann. I have done so and now report this back to the Seanad. I recommend the amendments and the Bill to the Seanad.