Health and Social Care Professionals Bill
Brendan Howlin sought an update on the progress of his Bill, saying Committee Stage had been deferred despite earlier assurances. The Taoiseach said he had not been aware of the delay and would come back to him.
In November of last year I tabled the Health and Social Care Professionals (Amendment) Bill 2016. The Bill was designed to tackle the issue of rogue crisis pregnancy agencies. The Bill passed Second Stage and I was assured that it would be a priority piece of work for the Government. At this stage, three months later, I have received no further detailed report of its progress. However, the Bills tracker, circulated by committee chairpersons last week, advised that consideration of this Bill on Committee Stage has been "deferred for the present". The Government gave a commitment when the Bill was passed that it would be enacted and prioritised. When might we see progress on this important legislation?
