Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

My question is about the publication of the legislation, which is in order. In his Supplementary Budget Statement we were given the impression by the Minister for Finance that the legislation to establish an bord bailout would be introduced quickly. The Taoiseach has now said it will be some time in the summer legislative session. The Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Eamon Ryan, was reported in a newspaper at the weekend as saying the legislation would be available in two weeks. The Tánaiste told us last Thursday the heads of the Bill would be published shortly. Now the Minister for Finance has said he will establish it on some kind of a non-statutory basis.

Will the Taoiseach be precise about when the legislation and the heads of the Bill will be published, as promised by the Tánaiste last Thursday? I understand the job of the NAMA will be to acquire property but it cannot do that unless it has legal authority to do so and is a legal entity. Any advance work would seem to be around the area of the valuing and discounting of properties which I understood was to be part of its work. It does not have a legal basis to do that until legislation is enacted.

What will a non-statutory an bord bailout do? It will not have legal authority to do anything. There is considerable confusion about this and the Taoiseach should clarify exactly when we will see the legislation and the heads of the Bill.

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