Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his response. That seems reasonable, though I would like to add a caveat, which is that we meet informally as a committee on this. I want to avoid a situation whereby the first we know of his intent is after the amendment deadline. As he and I discussed this earlier, I sought a briefing on a wide range of issues and was given guarantees that I would get a briefing note to help with the crafting of amendments. Despite chasing that up several days in a row, it never arrived and has not arrived to this day. Can I get a commitment from the Minister that he will meet with us with the required notes on this before the deadline for us to table amendments? This is critical to the operation of the legislation. It would not be enough for us to find out what he intends to do after a point in the legislative process where we could not propose our own amendments. I would like us to support whatever is said to be okay by the Office of the Attorney General and the medical practitioners, and the Minister is best-placed to do that. Can I get a commitment that we will meet and get a briefing in time for us to consider our own amendments in response to what the Minister proposes to do with this?