Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)

I am relieved the Attorney General is not attempting to lead an MBO. There is a significant backlog of legislation in the Government's promised list and the usual response from the Taoiseach to queries about when this legislation will be brought forward is that there is yet no date. Does the Taoiseach agree that this points to a significant shortage of staff at the drafting stage? Admittedly, we would have been much better off if some of the legislation brought forward by the Government had never seen the light of day. I do not want to tempt fate. In regard to progressive or necessary legislation, however, the Government should be providing for sufficient staff in the office to ensure there is no backlog or unnecessary pressure on the existing staff. The outsourcing of work would then be unnecessary.

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