Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)

The schedule of promised legislation has 86 Bills, none of which is from the Department of the Taoiseach. The pressure for legislation is therefore obviously less in that Department.

The National Economic and Social Development Office Bill was published in April 2002, finished Second Stage on 18 December 2003 and we have not heard of it since.

I know this could be because the Taoiseach does not have any clout in the Whip's Office. If he does, however, could the Bill be introduced to see if we could finish it before the end of the current Dáil session? One never knows what kind of collapse might happen after the by-elections. We would be left with this Bill which has not been enacted and the Minister, Deputy O'Dea, would not qualify for a pension.

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