Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I take the opportunity to wish committee members a very peaceful Christmas and happy new year. I thank the select committee for the work done on defence and justice issues during the course of the year. I am very conscious that we have published a lot of legislation and reports in the past 12 months and that the committee has been put under enormous pressure as a consequence. I thank committee members and the Chairman, in particular, for the extraordinarily efficient way in which the committee has conducted its business, the constructive and helpful reports published and the contribution made to the legislation we have developed. Until the Government was created, the heads of important Bills were not regularly furnished to the committees in order that they could hold hearings and contribute to the legislative process. I hope committee members consider the new approach we have adopted is a positive one. I assure them observations made on legislation have been impacting on the final form of Bills published. It is no harm to record, even though we are dealing with defence issues at this meeting, that this is an historic day because two Bills for which the committee received the heads are completing their passage through the Dáil. Just before the lunch the passage was completed of the National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Bill, which will provide greater protection for children and vulnerable adults by ensuring those working with them will be properly vetted through the use not only of hard but also soft information. Effectively, it will create a criminal offence with bodies and organisations being required to ensure individuals are properly vetted prior to being employed. By 10.30 p.m. the passage of the Personal Insolvency Bill will have been completed. These are two major Bills to which the committee made a very positive and valuable contribution, for which it is appropriate that I thank members.