Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the support of some parties — particularly Labour and Fine Gael — in respect of the general thrust of the Twenty-Eighth Amendment of the Constitution Bill. The work done by those parties' spokespersons with the relevant Ministers on the legislation is appreciated by the Government.

On the urgent need for the debate to commence, I agree with Deputy Quinn that this is an important matter which requires, as soon as is practicable, the full attention and consideration of the House. Having an unrestricted Second Stage debate in order that as many Members as possible might place their views on the record would be of great assistance to the wider public in the context not only of awareness, but also in respect of the general issues involved. The expertise that resides on all sides of this House should be put to good use in such a debate.

As already stated, the legislation should be dealt with as soon as is practicable. The Taoiseach and the Minister for Foreign Affairs will be attending the spring European Council meeting next week. It may, therefore, be difficult to arrange to commence the debate then. I accept the motivation behind the Deputy's question, namely, to have the debate on the legislation begin within the Dáil as soon as possible. It may well be that this matter will take centre stage in our deliberations in plenary session immediately after the recess. The White Paper should be published by the end of the month and this will also help to inform the debate.

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