Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)

I welcome the fact the Minister is taking the Order of Business because I can ask him directly about two Bills which are critically important to the functioning of our economy. They are the company law consolidation and reform Bill, No. 24 on the B list, and the industrial relations (amendment) Bill, No. 44 on the C list. Any practitioner of labour law would tell one there is an absolute minefield of uncertainty and contradiction between equality legislation, the 1990 Act and industrial relations generally. What is the cause of the delay in the Minister's Department in the production of these two items of legislation? They are so far off the horizon that we will not have sight of them before the next general election, according to the information I received. Can the Minister assure the House that some degree of urgency will be given to progressing these two matters as they are critical to the competitive performance of our economy?

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