We will move to questions on promised legislation and I call Deputy Micheál Martin. I have 18 Members offering.

As has been done already, I welcome the release of Ibrahim Halawa and wish him the best of health as he returns to his family and home in Dublin after such a terrible injustice being meted out to him and his being in prison for so long. I put on the record our appreciation of the work of the officials at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. They have long-standing experience in difficult situations such as this one and their work needs to be acknowledged, as well as that of the Ministers and the Members of this House, as led by the Ceann Comhairle. It is important to note that at times we do not recognise the professionalism of those in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade when dealing with such difficult issues.

Thank you, Deputy.

Others used Leaders' Questions but I was keeping my question for this item, so, if I may, the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill has been on the schedule for quite some time. A Government spokesperson in the Seanad wrongly accused this party of delaying it, which is an untrue statement. I have been pushing for this since the summer and we have indicated our support for the legislation. I am told by my colleagues in the Seanad, however, that they are told it will be dealt with this month, then next month and now that it will be another week or two before it will be presented. Will the Minister confirm when the Bill will be re-entered, if one likes, to the Seanad and the Oireachtas process?

A Cheann Comhairle-----

I will call the Deputy in a second.

I wish to restate my thanks to the officials in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for their work and in particular to the ambassador and his team, and the previous ambassador and team, in Cairo. This has been a long-running problem for the Department to work on with the Halawa family and their legal team. It is great to see its happy ending today.

My understanding is that the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill 2015 is in the Seanad.

No. It is not.

That is the information I have just been given.

Senator Buttimer has announced that we stopped it.

I will come back with a more exact date.

Senator Buttimer has caused difficulties for the Minister before.

We work very well together. I think he causes Deputy Martin more difficulties than me.

My question revolves around a commitment in the programme for Government, on page 5, to enhance the lives of those with disabilities. Lewis Harte is from Castlebar, County Mayo. He suffers from Duchenne muscular dystrophy, which is a very serious life-limiting condition affecting a very small number of boys in Ireland. Lewis will turn six on 2 November, next Thursday. He is mobile, and he is full of fun. He is a gorgeous little boy but all of this will change in a matter of months if he is not granted access to the drug Translarna. The drug is available in 22 European countries. Children like Lewis have only a very small window of opportunity within which the drug is effective and the clock is ticking for Lewis. Another boy, three year old Cathal, is in the same position. Both of these children risk losing their ambulatory capacity; in other words, they will not be able to walk. The Health Service Executive, HSE, has consistently denied children access to Translarna, the drug they desperately need. I am appealing for common sense, goodwill and decency to prevail in this case. Can the Minister give us some assurance that decency will prevail?

I will give the Deputy an assurance that I will raise it with the Minister. The Deputy knows how decisions are made on approval for drugs. I know the issue has been raised many times in this House that drugs that treat very rare conditions are sometimes in a different category. This is the first time I have heard of this particular six year old. I will raise it with the Minister for Health and respond to the Deputy.

I join others in warmly welcoming the release of Ibrahim Halawa and thank the consular section of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the embassy staff in Cairo. I was very happy to be part of the delegation earlier this year and I am glad that this has come to a happy conclusion.

More than two years ago, I published the general scheme of the data sharing and governance Bill, the purpose of which was to streamline the number of occasions on which any individual citizen had to give the same personal information. It was also intended to enshrine in law best practice in data sharing to address some of the concerns of the public that have surfaced again recently. The last time I looked at the legislative agenda it stated that pre-legislative scrutiny had commenced. In fact, pre-legislative scrutiny was finished in July. When will we see the legislation here in the House?

The official position is that it has just finished pre-legislative scrutiny but, even if that happened in July, we do not have an official date for when it will be brought before the House. I will try to get a response for the Deputy.

In respect of the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill 2015, at lunchtime today there was a very sobering event organised by Alcohol Action Ireland to remind people that the consumption levels of alcohol are on the up again. It outlined in very stark terms the harmful impact drinking has on one in 11 children as a result of parental drinking. It also said that alcohol is implicated in approximately half of all suicides. This year, some 1,000 people in this country will be diagnosed with alcohol-related cancer.

It is 600 days since the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill was published and started winding its way through the Seanad. By all accounts, the problems in the Seanad are the result of the failure of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil to reach a compromise.

No, that is not true.

By all accounts, that is what is being said by Senators. Whatever the reason for the interminable delay in the Seanad, I appeal to the Minister to arrange to sit down with the leader of Fianna Fáil, find the reason for this logjam in the Seanad, put their heads together and move this Bill forward so this House can pass it because it is very much needed.

For the record of the House, it is important to point out that this is not a truthful account.

All right.

No, it is not all right that things like that are being said. The bottom line is that the Government withdrew the Bill from the Seanad and said Fine Gael will examine it. We have spoken to the Government and said that we support the Bill and that it should come back to the Seanad and come to this House as quickly as possible.

We cannot have a debate on this matter.

The information I have just received is that it is due back in early November.

The Minister said a second ago-----

I know, and I try to update the House by asking for information from outside the House. Perhaps the Deputy could say "thanks". I am trying to get an answer for him. I know Deputy Shortall is very associated with this legislation and I remember the debates she brought forward relating to the alcohol Bill. All I can say to her is that the Minister is committed to this legislation and wants to bring it forward. It is due back in the Seanad very shortly and I would like to see it progress, as would the Government.

We have dealt with Deputy Shortall's question.