Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

May I have one more minute? The Leas-Cheann Comhairle has been very indulgent but I like to help the Deputies.

I do not know whether the then Attorney General would stand over his view that this is correct. That is not the issue. The issue is that I must ask the current Attorney General for his view and, irrespective of the fact that the then Attorney General would have a different view, I must act on the advice of the current Attorney General. That is the way it works. The relevant issue, therefore, is not whether the individual who was in office at the time had a different view. The relevant issue for me, as Minister, is to get the view of the current Attorney General. That is the view on which I must act. It is irrelevant whether a previous Attorney General has a different view. If he is no longer Attorney General, that is irrelevant to the issue and is therefore a red herring.

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