Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)

The soldiers of destiny descended on Inchydoney, the Slieve Russell hotel, and lately, Killarney, looked into their hearts and souls — assuming that they have hearts and souls — laboured hard and brought forth this Bill. It has, however, taken a long time. The Bill arises from a commitment made following the 1998 report of the working group on the review and improvement of the Parental Leave Act. This was not even the last election but a year after the previous election.

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