Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

In order to have a better understanding of the actuality of the Office of the Attorney General's role in the drafting of legislation, will the Taoiseach give a percentage of legislation prepared directly by staff employed in the Attorney General's office? What is the proportion or percentage of legislation contracted out? How is that divided up? Is there a pattern there on an annual basis? Do Departments draft their own legislation? Do they also contract out work for drafting? The Taoiseach referred to 19 staff and four consultant drafters in the Attorney General's office. Are consultant drafters employed in each Department?

In relation to the current trickle of legislation reaching the Houses of the Oireachtas, which has been a reality for some considerable time — certainly since the resumption after the summer — what responsibility would the Taoiseach ascribe to the Office of the Attorney General for this delay? Does he accept that it is wholly and absolutely his responsibility and that of his Cabinet colleagues? Can he be more informative and give the House a sense of the role, if any, played by the Attorney General's office in the delay in the presentation of legislation that we have experienced for a considerable number of months?

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