I am seriously aggrieved at how sick people have been treated by senior management in the HSE. When one needs a national car test one telephones the appropriate body for an appointment, a suitable time is confirmed and one attends with a vehicle for the test. When one needs a passport one gets an appointment time to meet somebody from the Passport Office.

On two occasions I have had to bring two relations to hospital. One one occasion I had to bring a relative to Tullamore Hospital for an appointment. On the second occasion I had to bring a relative to St. James's Hospital for a scan. On both occasions I talked to the people who were seated around me. Like me, they had waited for a couple of hours. I discovered that 30 people had been given the same appointment time to attend St. James's. I also discovered that around 20 people had been given the same appointment time to attend Tullamore Hospital. Such a practice is scandalous. Our sickest and most vulnerable people have been and are being treated with utter contempt, which is not good enough. I will be very disappointed in the HSE, which has a lot of senior management, if it cannot sort out this mess. I ask the Leader to bring pressure to bear on the Minister for Health to resolve the problem. Furthermore, I talked to a consultant about the practice. He told me that some people do not turn up for their appointment, etc. I bet that anyone who gets an appointment to attend an oncology ward shows up on time. The consultant's answer was unfeasible.

Yesterday, the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health decided to reject the draft Bill proposed by Deputy Gino Kenny. We took very detailed legal advice on the matter and it was found that the Bill had serious defects. It is important to convey the message that medicinal cannabis is available where a medical consultant is satisfied that it would benefit a patient. That consultant can apply to the Minister for a licence and once a licence is issued the product can be used.

It is a myth that medicinal cannabis is not available to anyone for medical reasons. The Health Products Regulatory Authority, HPRA, issued a detailed report on the matter earlier in the year. It set out three areas where medicinal cannabis can be used. It is important to convey the message that the decision by the Oireachtas joint committee is not about preventing medicinal cannabis being used. The system has been set up whereby a medical consultant can apply for a licence and the product can be used once he or she is satisfied it will benefit the patient.

I wish to clearly state that there is no scientific evidence to support the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes. There is a question to be answered when a GP prescribes it. Would a GP's professional indemnity policy adequately cover him or her if there was a subsequent claim against the GP for giving incorrect advice? A view exists that the committee took the wrong decision. I can confirm that all of the members who attended the meeting took the unanimous decision that the Bill, brought forward by Deputy Gino Kenny, was not the way to deal with this matter. The Minister has effectively dealt with the matter over the past six to eight months. It is important that we get that message out.

My colleague in the Seanad raised the issue of hospital appointments. I agree with him that there is a need for change in the area. Some hospitals have brought forward a change. There is a problem with people not turning up for appointments. I heard about one clinic recently where only three people turned up for the six available appointments.

That is not the case in the oncology department and I made that point.

I refer to a particular area that is very close to oncology. As many as three of the six people did not turn up for their appointments.

That is not the case. The Senator is talking rubbish.

The HSE could introduce simple measures such as texts to solve the problem of non-attendance. Many units text patients in order to remind them of their appointments. Texts would be one way to solve the problem and should be introduced in all cases.