Between the two political speeches, I thought for a moment the election campaign had already started. I wish to ask about the health information Bill and the patient safety licensing Bill.

They have ditched those Bills too.

I know they have. Last year, at a meeting of the health committee, the Minister gave a commitment that he would bring forward a Bill which would include a duty of candour and a policy of open disclosure for doctors and other health professionals. It was in response to countless distressing examples of families having to go to court and force health professionals to reveal the facts when mistakes in treatment had occurred. In recent weeks, the Minister has decided it will not happen, and said that to legislate in this way would be counterproductive. I do not know what made him change his mind. Maybe the Taoiseach can shed some light on why the Bill will not be published.

The Taoiseach has reported that the monitoring of journalists' phones is a matter of grave concern. The review the Minister has ordered under the Communications (Retention of Data) Act will apply only to journalists. Would the Taoiseach agree, given the number of requests for monitoring, that it is a bigger issue than just journalists? Would he consider that the review should be broadened to include other members of society?

Work is proceeding on the health information Bill. It is not in the priority list and will not be published before the Dáil ends its duty. The Minister had intended to introduce a particular kind of Bill on open disclosure. This will not go ahead in the manner he first envisaged.

Regarding the review, the Government made a decision that a former Chief Justice should examine the application and operation of the law in this case. When the allegations were made that GSOC had been bugged, people were very strongly of the opinion that GSOC should be given a full range of powers and investigative facilities. However, when the recent incident came to light, they changed their tune and said we had to consider the question of the law.

I would say that this is not a simple matter. The question of the use, retention and retrieval of data is one that has other implications in terms of terrorist activities and relations between different countries and between companies and countries. For now, the Government has made a clear decision that a former Chief Justice should review the operation of the law as it applies at the moment to members of the journalistic profession and report to the Minister for Justice and Equality inside three months. I think that is appropriate and warranted.