Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is not going to look any different. It will look exactly the same. We should not have all our eggs in one basket. In an ideal world, where people have common sense, the ratification of the convention that was signed on 1 February would be something we could guarantee will pass. We obviously want it to be ratified. The UK parliament will go through its normal process, involving a 21-day cooling period and applications being made to the privy committee before it is passed. With respect, however, to Members of the British Parliament, I cannot find myself in a position, on 29 March, where this is not passed in Westminster. I have an obligation to the 132,000 pensioners and the thousands of other people I mentioned earlier, which is why we will pass the legislation that empowers me, from a legal perspective, to continue making those payments. If it transpires that we do not need to commence the legislation, because the convention has been ratified, that will-----