Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

I am not sure if that will solve the problem, but perhaps legislation is the way to proceed and then we will see what happens.

On the issue raised by Deputy Ó Caoláin, many of these issues are subject to discussion before a decision is finally taken. The rule is that one cannot prejudice Government decisions and one has to avoid making public statements or commenting on policy proposals that are not brought to Government or are under consideration by the Government. That is the rule of the Cabinet handbook.

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