From the Minister's explanation regarding the Title of the Bill, may I refer him to section 8, and to many sections of other Bills that have been passed through the Oireachtas. Section 8 states "Sections 5 and 6 of the principal Act and sections 5 and 6 of the Act of 1992 are hereby repealed." I am sure that no solicitor of any standing, much less the Attorney-General, would suggest to the Minister that he is not empowered to introduce legislation that repeals existing legislation he finds unacceptable; of course the Minister can do that. However, to be consistent in the views he has expressed — they may not necessarily be in line with my views — he would repeal all existing legislation concerning health and family planning in one fell swoop and would then introduce legislation for the purposes he has expressed today, particularly for the control of AIDS.
I am surprised that his advisers — legal or otherwise — have suggested to him, as he said here, that the reason this is being presented under health and family planning is because one has to work within existing legislation. Have they not heard of repealing Bills in toto and replacing them with new legislation? Legislation should be as precise as possible. I tell the Minister I can see solicitors having a field day with this Bill, especially in regard to section 2, where a contraceptive sheath is no longer defined as a contraceptive.