Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)

The Taoiseach said that a contract was about to be signed. I would be interested to know if there is a timetable associated with that contract or is it open-ended. Does the Taoiseach consider that once the work has been undertaken, this version will be the authentic one? He referred to Tasmania as being unique, although I am not sure whether it is. Is he saying that the Tasmanian standard of having an authentic version of the Statute Book on-line is somehow a bridge too far, a standard too high or something we will not be able to achieve? Alternatively, is he saying that is the objective of the contract on which he is about to sign off? At the end of that process, can the Taoiseach confirm that we will have an authentic, electronic Statute Book which will not have people scurrying about looking for the hard copy before they can make a decision? Ultimately, the service will be ineffective if it is not authentic. Will our standard be as high as Tasmania's or will we have to settle for something else?

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