Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)

I hope the Tánaiste has taken on board the strength of feeling on this side of the House with regard to accountability on this important issue and that he will at least use maximum discretion to provide time for a debate on it. I am sure that by the end of today's session we will still have unanswered questions and that the Dáil will, once again, have been found unable to fulfil its duty and obligation to properly scrutinise Ministers. I expect that will be the disappointment at the end of today'ssession.

Yesterday we heard another Minister describe the position on pensions as unsustainable and state that to do nothing would be disastrous. Why has that Minister then decided to defer making any decisions on pension legislation? We were told that after the review, decisions would be made on such legislation. The previous incumbent, Deputy Brennan, expressed the clear view that a one-for-one system should be proceeded with, but now the decision has yet again been deferred. Will the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance move to bring forward, at least, the one-for-one proposal made by the previous Minister as a way of moving forward in a practical way. The Minister must not continue with the charade of continuous consultation which, in the case of issues such as public transport regulation, has left us without a decision for decades.

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