Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)

——or some provision of immigration law. In cases of that kind, the assistant secretary with relevant responsibility, or the principal officer under that assistant secretary, is charged with bringing to the attention of the Minister any knowledge that he or she might have on whether a response is required to any constitutional challenge of significance to the Department. It may seem strange but, as I have indicated to the House on a number of occasions, no notice of what was happening in this case was given, with the exception of the exchange in 2002. No information was made available on whether the case was ongoing or had died a death, as so many cases do. It is not reasonable to assume that every case automatically reaches a conclusion. The great majority of judicial reviews and constitutional claims wither on the vine. Did Deputy Howlin ask another question?

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