Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

There is no legislation in my Department relating to Northern Ireland but a number of Bills are pending in other Departments such as the Foyle fisheries Bill and other related legislation and orders. The Foyle fisheries Bill is at a fairly advanced stage and we should be able to progress it. Other legislation not relevant to my Department is pending but is caught up in North-South issues.

The purpose of the Bill on the National Economic and Social Development Office, which is awaiting Committee Stage, is to establish the office on a statutory basis. The three offices were separate and we brought them together some years ago. There was a commitment under the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness that it would be set up on a statutory basis. There are a number of reasons for that apart from putting it on a legal basis, mainly in terms of advantages to the staff involved. The NESC has been in existence for a 30-year period, the NESF is about 12 years old and the NCPP is a more recent organisation. These bodies were not set up on a statutory basis and the purpose of the legislation is to bring them together. The staff have been doing their job, in some cases for many years. The legislation will include provisions to assist the staff, including, as Deputy Rabbitte stated, on pension issues. Many of the staff, for example, in the NESC, have been in the job for 30 years and the matter is a pressing one for some individuals.

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