Vol. 298 No. 12
Before we commence, I remind Senators that they may only speak once on Report Stage, except the proposer of an amendment who may reply to the discussion on the amendment. Also on Report Stage non-Government amendments must be seconded.
Amendments Nos. 1 and 3 to 9, inclusive, 12 to 16, inclusive, 21, 22 and 37 are related and may be discussed together by agreement. Is that agreed? Agreed.
As flagged on Committee Stage, I am bringing forward a number of amendments to align the human tissue Bill with the Assist Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015. These amendments include the insertion of definitions, including "Act of 2015", to refer to the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015; "capacity", which will be construed in accordance with the 2015 Act and provides for a functional assessment of capacity to be undertaken, which is the appropriate means of conducting capacity assessments in the State; and "decision-making representative" and "decision-making representation order", which will be construed in accordance with the 2015 Act.
These amendments also update the term previously referred to as "specified family member" to that of "specified person". For the purposes of this Bill, a "specified person" is a person who may give appropriate consent in certain situations where a living adult who lacks capacity may be involved in the donation of organs, tissues or cells. The updated term better reflects the scope of different persons captured who are not necessarily family members.
In addition to updating the term, the list of different specified persons in section 25(4) is proposed to be revised. The current list has been reviewed to ensure there is consistency across this Bill and the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015. Following this review, and engagement between my officials and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, I am including in the list of specified persons "decision-making representatives" as defined in the 2015 Act where the terms of the decision-making representation order confers such functions. Further, I am removing references to attorneys appointed under the Power of Attorney Act 1996, given the nature of the matters for which appropriate consent is sought.
A new section,105, is being inserted. Currently, the human tissue Bill and the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 contain provisions governing the donation of organs by living persons lacking capacity. However, there are differences in the arrangements for dealing with such donations. This new section amends the relevant provision of the 2015 Act and provides that matters relating to the donation of an organ from a living person lacking capacity will be determined in accordance with the human tissue legislation.
A number of consequential technical amendments are also being made, including an amendment to the Long Title of the Bill.
Amendments Nos. 2, 10, 11, 28 and 29 are related and may be discussed together by agreement. Is that agreed? Agreed.
These are technical amendments to update references to the Coroners Act throughout the human tissue Bill to take account of the recently passed legislation. They have no material impact on the provisions of the Bill.
Amendments Nos. 17, 30 and 36 are related and may be discussed together, by agreement.
These are technical amendments that rephrase provisions for clarity or update incorrect references to other provisions. They have no material impact on the provisions of the Bill.
Amendments Nos. 18 to 20, inclusive, and Nos. 23 to 27, inclusive, are related and may be discussed together, by agreement.
These are technical amendments that update incomplete references to regenerative tissue and replace them with the term "regenerative tissues and cells". The latter is already defined in the legislation.
Amendments Nos. 31 to 35, inclusive, are related and may be discussed together, by agreement.
These are technical amendments to update references to the human tissue Bill that are being inserted into the Coroners Act. The human tissue Bill was previously referred to as the Act of 2023, and these references are being updated and replaced by the Short Title of the human tissue Bill. These amendments will have no material impact on the provisions of either piece of legislation.
When is it proposed to take the Final Stage?
Is that agreed? Agreed.
I thank all Senators. It is great to see such cross-party support for the human tissue Bill. It is great that it is to be passed in the Seanad today. We will head back into the Dáil for one final session, hopefully next Wednesday, and then send the Bill to the President, hopefully to be signed. Then we need to get on with the important business of enacting the legislation and increasing opportunities for people waiting for an organ donation. I thank colleagues for their support throughout.
I concur with the Minister. This is an important Bill that will save lives. It should have happened a long time ago but it is happening now. I hope it will pass through the Dáil next week as quickly as it did here and that the President will sign it into law, allowing us to get on with the important business of enacting it.
It would be remiss of us not to acknowledge the serious impact of the Leas-Chathaoirleach on this Bill. He has been campaigning on it for years. We were brought back here one August on this very important issue.
An Leas-Chathaoirleach: It did not help my Seanad campaign. It did not help the re-election campaign anyway.
It was absolutely the right thing to do, however. I was here on the day. One asked why what was happening did not happen several years previously. It did not but it is happening now. It will save lives, and that is what this is all about.
I thank Senator Conway for his comment.
Like Senator Conway, I congratulate the Minister and his officials, who have worked so hard on this legislation. It is well overdue but it is fantastic that we have finished considering it here in the Seanad, allowing it to be moved swiftly to the Dáil. I hope colleagues in the Dáil will be as co-operative as all the Senators have been in order to produce really good legislation.
I, too, pay tribute to the Leas-Chathaoirleach, Senator Mark Daly, for his work on this. The day after I was elected to the Seanad in 2016, he tracked me down to talk about the human tissue Bill he wanted to introduce and the work he was doing on it. He was trying to get me onside. I had literally not been 24 hours elected when he wanted to get me onside. This is a great day for him. Sometimes is up to individuals to campaign and highlight issues, and then we see change. The Leas-Chathaoirleach was to the forefront in this regard. I congratulate him on that.
This legislation will be a lifeline for so many waiting on an organ donation. We have friends and colleagues on the list. I hope the Bill can be progressed swiftly and enacted and that we will see a much more up-to-date and more fit-for-purpose system. Well done to the Minister.
I thank colleagues for their kind words. I thank Senators Conway and Clifford-Lee. I thank the Minister for being here again because I know he has been discussing this issue. We said it before but it is no harm saying it again in respect of the Minister’s work on this. This is the first time the Oireachtas has passed legislation related to organ donation. I think Senator Conway was referring to an EU directive that was passed and signed into law by a previous Minister for Health. It was a directive that was added to by Government officials and officials in the Department of Health but it was never brought before the Dáil or Seanad nor was it discussed by the health committee in the Oireachtas. Democratically elected Members of this House had no opportunity at all to see that legislation before the Minister signed it into law. That statutory instrument, or ministerial order, as they are sometimes referred to, was amended two years later but no Member of the Oireachtas got a chance to see it. Senator Conway is now in charge of the committee that will prevent that from happening in the future. The long-winded title of it is the Seanad Select Committee on the Scrutiny of Draft EU-related Statutory Instruments. Basically, it will make sure any laws that are added to by Government Departments are seen by the Members of this House in advance. I thank Senators for their kind words and I thank the Minister for being here. Hopefully, this Bill will be passed in the coming few weeks and will be in Áras an Uachtaráin as soon as possible.
I will not delay the Minister. I was keen to contribute to this debate. I congratulate the Minister and the Department for getting this important legislation through. It is something that should have been done a considerable time ago. It is important that the work the Minister is doing in his Department is getting this through. I wish to take this opportunity to state on the record of the House that I appreciate the work the Minister and his officials have done in the Department of Health. This is a good day for the Department of Health and it is a good story for this Government. I appreciate that we are getting this timely legislation across the line.
Many of us grew up hearing about people needing organ donation. It is something I have heard an awful lot about. I have had very young friends whose lives have been transformed and changed because of organ donation. They are able to live full lives into adulthood whereas, even a decade before, they would not have been able to do that. There is a real opportunity here now. I hope many more lives will be saved. Let us look at the success of the organ donation card campaign, which arguably did not have an enormous budget yet a huge number of people know about it. The opportunity for lives to be changed as a result of this will be immense. It is a great day to see something like this happen. There will be a public awareness campaign for people for whom this will not be an option they want to avail of and for others as well. This may give comfort to people who are on waiting lists, looking forward and wondering what their lives will look like. It is a great day and it is great for the Minister to be able to stand over this legislation. It is a positive story to come out of Leinster House today. Well done to the Minister for getting this through.
I welcome the students and staff from Scoil Dairbhre national school in County Louth. They are most welcome to Seanad Éireann. I thank the students for coming in with Emily Scully, Jane O’Hare and Elaine Hearty. We also have Adam Marmion, who is over on the far side in the Distinguished Visitors Gallery. Adam, how are you doing? I thank him for coming. We are delighted to have him. Adam is the reason they are all here today as guests of Senator John McGahon. I ask Senator McGahon to explain why Adam is our guest of honour.
It is timely that we have the Minister for Health in the House today because Adam Marmion from County Louth is a very courageous young man. I had the pleasure of meeting him about a year ago with his parents. It is because of Adam that the school has a tour in Leinster House today. All of the students have a day off school to come for a tour of Leinster House and it is all down to Adam, who organised the whole trip. It is great to have Adam and Darver National School here today. They are watching an important debate with the Minister for Health.
No homework tonight.
I thank Senator Conway for reminding the Chair that the rule of Seanad Éireann is that on a visit to the Seanad, there is no homework for the rest of the week. The next time the guests come, they should make sure to come on a Tuesday so they get the whole week off and get more value for their visit.
