Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)

I advise the Tánaiste to exercise great care, having regard to the seat from which he rises, in proposing the establishment of an all-party committee with an input on constituency boundaries. Any such committee would undoubtedly include a majority of Government Members. The terms of reference of any such committee must be carefully considered. This House should hesitate to go down that road.

One of the most important items of proposed legislation heralded not only by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform but also by the Taoiseach in recent times is the sale of alcohol Bill. We were assured that proposals in this regard would be published before the end of March and that the legislation would be processed and enacted by this House before the summer recess. However, the latest legislative programme distributed by the Government Chief Whip indicates that publication of the Bill has been deferred to some time late this year. What is the reason for this delay?

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