Mr. David Walsh:

I am conscious of the time, but I thank members for their views. As the Minister signalled a number of weeks ago when he appeared before the committee, this is a Bill with small elements that we in the Department see as urgently needed, ideally to be enacted as soon as possible, to deal with planning issues, as well as to provide other enabling measures. We recognise that, in the context of the wider rental strategy and other aspects under the five pillars, further legislative amendments will be required and they will come through in due course.

We have a planning Bill which is slowly making its way through the system. There may well be opportunities to have issues that are not directly related to the provisions here considered through committee amendments. The Minister also signalled that if reasonable amendments were proposed that added value to the Bill, as drafted, he would be willing to consider them throughout the process.

We are working flat out to get from a general scheme to a published Bill. We hope, with a tailwind, to have the work substantially delivered this month. The committee's decision on whether to have a formal scrutiny process will largely determine whether the Bill is published and potentially enacted this side of Christmas or whether publication will be pushed into the early part of next year. We appreciate this opportunity and if there questions that we have not been able to answer, I will be pleased to submit answers to the clerk and Chairman.