Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

On the second part of the Deputy's question, I do not believe legislation will be required. I am not sure that a statutory basis should be provided when establishing a forum but obviously the preparatory committees in both the Oireachtas and the Assembly in Northern Ireland can consider the means by which it can be put in place.

I welcome the establishment, at the earliest possible opportunity, of the civic forum and the interparliamentary forum. They will be very important given recent welcome developments in terms of consolidating the political work envisaged under the respective agreements. This work is such that we can propose common solutions to common problems as they arise and make use of parliamentary interaction that I, as one of the original members of the British-Irish parliamentary forum, regarded as very important. It was a very important, behind-the-scenes, under the radar forum where we got to know people a lot better and in respect of which far better understanding developed regarding British-Irish affairs generally. I would very much welcome the establishment of the fora as soon as possible. I wish well the preparatory committees that are working on this matter.

On the question on heads of Bills, I will check where commitments were given by the former Taoiseach in this regard. Perhaps Deputy Ó Caoláin might refer to previous parliamentary debates, if he can recall them, in which the former Taoiseach had something to say about this matter. There probably should be room for more discussion and for making much better use of our committee system in this respect. The Deputy made the point that there is sometimes very little time in which Government or Opposition Deputies can make a contribution between the publication of a Bill and its consideration on the floor of the House, and sometimes its speedy enactment.

On the Order of Business, Members often complain about the delay in bringing Bills forward for publication. There is, therefore, considerable time between the announcement of impending legislation and its subsequent publication in which Deputies can inquire into the state of play regarding that legislation. They can do so through correspondence, the use of the committee system when the Minister is before a committee, or during Question Time or the Adjournment. There are other means by which information can be gleaned under the Standing Orders of the House rather than by doing so on the Order of Business, which I believe is sometimes over-utilised for this purpose. While there may be a short timeframe between the publication and enactment of a Bill, there is usually a very long timeframe between its announcement and publication, thus enabling Deputies to acquaint themselves with the progress being made during the drafting process.

The provision of heads of Bills would have to be considered on a case-by-case basis. With regard to certain legislation, the publication of the heads might prejudice certain people in the sector in question by giving them prior knowledge or a competitive advantage, although what they find out at that stage might not reflect the full, comprehensive thinking of the Government on the specific issue in question. The heads of a Bill might indicate the general areas that are being considered but the legal phraseology in the sections of the Bill might have a far greater or lesser impact, depending on the intent of the Minister. Therefore, the heads of the Bill do not often give one an accurate read although I take the point they would give one an overall orientation regarding the intent of the Government or relevant Department regarding legislation as it is being developed. As a Member of this House, I agree and have always believed that we must encourage fuller participation of all Members of the House in respect of all work in the House, including the legislative work. The committee system, used well, effectively and in a co-ordinated way, affords an excellent opportunity to Members to do that.

I accept the point that unless legislation is taken in plenary session, the difficulty that arises in trying to seek public attention for what one has to say is not proportionate to the effort many Deputies on all sides make in trying to enact legislation that would be effective on its signature by the President. I am generally very supportive of any means by which we can assist Deputies to acquaint themselves with legislation and make a full contribution thereon. I acknowledge that this objective often falls short of being met in practice in that, when Bills are published, they sometimes require rather speedy enactment because of difficulties that arise or because of the requirement to plug a loophole immediately. I am not opposed to what has been said but each Bill must be considered on a case-by-case basis. I hear what the Deputy is saying.

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