Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

With regard to reports generally, we have had in the past number of years referenda on Cabinet confidentiality, the Amsterdam Treaty, the British-Irish Agreement, the recognition of local government, the death penalty, the International Criminal Court, the Nice treaty, the protection of human life and pregnancy and citizenship issues. Some matters on the Judiciary were prepared but we did not proceed with them. Issues regarding property rights have gone back to legislation. An enormous amount of what has been in the reports has been taken forward in legislation.

There are a host of areas that do not perhaps contain major changes, but it is difficult to group them. The Office of the Attorney General has considered this, along with the Cabinet secretariat and Departments, and it is difficult to come up with an easy way to bring forward many of these amendments. We have dealt with many of them. Many of the individual issues in the reports have been dealt with. A comprehensive report has been carried out on others, and when people are compiling legislation they can take these into account. Many did not come down to constitutional aids, although some did. The number was not significant. There were some which I disagreed with, such as that regarding age and the presidency, and the Government did not support others.

The Minister has stated he will move on this report and the Government is anxious to proceed. It is a good report. While everything was not agreed, the committee did a good job. There were many areas of unanimity. We should proceed with it, and this is the view of the Government also. Most of the issues are valuable to people, as the lives of many people are already altered through processes such as civil partnership, for example. There are issues of a legal nature, concerning such matters as property rights and other factors that could create difficulties. The Department of Finance would also be involved in matters such as benefits, for example. Much of what is contained in the report could be moved quickly. The Minister for Finance is open to this also.

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