Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is not an Estimates matter and I am here today to deal with the Estimates, which the Deputy will undoubtedly raise with me. If a commitment was given to the Deputy that the Government will facilitate a particular legislative measure I will follow up on that commitment and refer back to the Deputy by the end of next week on where that stands. Regarding the Bill that passed Second Stage in the Dáil last week, the Minister of State, Deputy D'Arcy, when replying to the debate on my behalf said that there were a number of areas in the Bill which we agreed should be implemented. We believe there are ways, particularly when we receive the feedback from the Central Bank on banking culture in the summer, that are likely to converge with what is included in the Deputy's Bill.

On the question about why the committee facilitates passing legislation from the Government, the answer to that varies on a case-by-case basis. I do not have a majority in the committee and if the committee decides to facilitate Government legislation it is because the committee believes the policy objectives included in the Bill are worth making happen.