Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal West, Sinn Fein)

Was the September date announced without any consultation with business? I wonder how that could have happened if they are so adamant now that they are not ready for it. The Department pressed ahead with a date in September and now that is being "delayed" again. I hope Mr. Duggan does not mind if I describe it in that way. Was there a miscommunication? I have got some details through freedom of information requests and I know the Department was lobbied fairly extensively by firms in this space. Were the companies telling the Department that while it was pushing for a September deadline, or were they not saying that and then when the Department put in a start date of September they said they would not be ready? How can we have confidence that this is going to go ahead on the specified date, given that a number of dates have slipped? At what point did the companies start telling the Department they were not ready? Was it after September was announced or was it in advance of it but the Department announced it anyway? Does Mr. Duggan see what I mean?