Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

I want to ask about two Bills. The first is the Bill to give effect to the so-called pensions levy. Will the Taoiseach tell the House when that Bill will be introduced in the House and what is his timetable for its enactment? Can the Taoiseach tell us if the heads of the Bill have been approved by the Government and, if so, will the Government publish them? There is much uncertainty as to what exactly the Government is proposing in regard to this levy, to what incomes it will apply and from what date it will apply. Will Taoiseach give the House the information in this regard?

Second, the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government has announced there will be spending limits for the local elections this year and that they will apply for a period of 60 days before the local elections, which means they will apply from 5 April or thereabouts. I welcome this because it is something the Labour Party has been advocating for some time. The limits announced are not quite as low as the Labour Party would have liked but, in any event, I welcome the fact they have been announced. There is a need for legislation to give effect to this and presumably this will have to be passed in good time before 5 April, when the limits will apply. Will the Taoiseach tell us when the legislation will be published and introduced to give effect to the spending limits?

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