Amendments Nos. 11 and 12 are related and may be discussed together.
SECTION 25.
I move amendment No. 11:
In page 15, subsection (2), line 22, to delete "Health Acts, 1947 to 1994" and substitute "Health Acts, 1947 to 1996".
This is a technical amendment. It changes the collective citation of the Health Acts to reflect the passage earlier this year of two Health Acts. The reference to subsection (2) is being amended from "Health Acts, 1947 to 1994" to ". . . 1947 to 1996". The two Acts already passed this year, as Deputies will recall, are the Health (Amendment) Act, 1996 which provides services to victims of hepatitis C, and the Health (Amendment) (No.2) Act, 1996 which deals with the establishment of Tallaght Hospital. This Bill, when enacted, will become the Health (Amendment) (No.3) Act, 1996. A second corresponding amendment has been made to the long title of the Bill.
Amendment agreed to.
Section 25, as amended, agreed to.
First Schedule agreed to.
Second Schedule agreed to.
TITLE.
I move amendment No. 12:
In page 3, line 10, to delete "1994" and substitute "1996".
Amendment agreed to.
Title, as amended, agreed to.
Report of Select Committee.
I propose the following draft report:
The Select Committee has considered the Bill and has made amendments thereto. The Bill, as amended, is reported to the Dáil.
Is that agreed?
Report agreed to.
Ordered to report to the Dáil accordingly.
I thank the Minister and his officials for attending. I thank the Opposition and Government spokespersons for their contributions to a constructive and worthwhile debate.
I thank everybody, especially the Acting Chairman and the staff of the committee who facilitated us this morning. I thank Deputy Geoghegan-Quinn and her colleagues who participated in the debate. I thank my officials who I omitted to introduce at the start of the debate. Paul Barron is the principal officer, John O'Toole and Bairbre Nic Aonghusa are assistant principals and Heber McMahon is a higher executive officer.
I object to Mr. Fergal Goodman being left out by everyone, by the Chairman at the beginning of the meeting and by his Ministerat the end. He is the hit man we have all come to know in the Minister's office.
Thank you, Chairman, for facilitating the holding of the meeting this morning. It was important to get the Bill through and it was important in the absence of the Chairman that you could take over the Chair and deal with business so efficiently. I thank the staff, the Minister for his generosity in outlining all the details of the Bill and accepting the amendments about which we were very concerned, and the Minister's officials. No doubt we will see them all again on Report Stage of this Bill in the Dáil.
I remind members of the committee that we have a meeting this afternoon at 2.30 p.m. I ask for good attendance there.
The Select Committee adjourned at 11.45 a.m.