Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)

I take this opportunity to wish the former Tánaiste well and the new Tánaiste an enjoyable short tenure.

Can the long overdue criminal justice (UN convention against corruption) Bill be brought forward any quicker than is proposed? We have moved from position 12 down to position 19 on the international corruption perceptions index. This is something we must address. Will the Taoiseach endorse the calls from my party to abolish corporate donations in the political system in the interests of better transparency, accountability and fairness?

The Government has little credibility in regard to the citizen's information Bill, which has apparently been renamed and the imminent publication of which has been promised every Monday for the last several weeks. Will the latest postponement to 6 October be the final announcement in regard to this legislation or will it continue to be denied the light of day? Who was consulted in regard to the name of the Bill? Was this change a product of the imagination of the Minister or somebody in his office?

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