Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

The defamation Bill is almost complete and will certainly be circulated this session. However, it might take another few weeks. With regard to debating the Harris report, I am not sure that it has been published. I believe that I answered on behalf of the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Hanafin, some weeks ago, and I will ask the Whip to deal with that.

The Department of Finance grants a round sum for Oireachtas services, and it is a matter for the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission to decide how those resources are spent. If it has been agreed by members of the committee that the translation service be made available to Members, it is for the Commission to implement it. If it is a question of providing extra resources, that is another matter, but it is up to the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission to decide how to disburse the overall Vote. If it is on translation services, I have no difficulty if that is a service sought by Members.

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