Mr. Gerard Keown:

I assure the Deputy the Tánaiste has been clear that this is a priority for the Government. This meeting is taking place a week after the Government approved the general scheme. We are here to clarify the points raised by members of the committee and we are happy to do so. The Tánaiste is on record as saying that the Government wishes to pursue this as expeditiously as possible. Obviously, the timeline for the committee's work is for the committee to determine. It will then come back to the Oireachtas and the Government will take that forward. I cannot give the Deputy a timeline for that because it partly depends on the committee's own work, but the Tánaiste has said that the Government will move as expeditiously as possible with this legislation.