Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

As I said, the drafting of this legislation is proceeding as a matter of urgency and priority. It is important legislation. I was making the point that the Attorney General is ensuring that the legislation being brought forward is robust and will withstand scrutiny. That is normal criteria in respect of the preparation of any legislation and is an important consideration in this case also. As I mentioned to the House already, the Minister for Finance intends to have this legislation brought to Government, approved and published during the course of this month. That is the target he has set himself and those working on this issue and he is hopeful he can meet that target. However, he has also indicated that he is prepared, given the urgency of the legislation and the priority being afforded to it by Government as part of its effort to get credit flowing back into the real economy as quickly as possible, to bring forward this legislation by way of an early return of the Dáil. No decision in that regard will be made until such time has the legislation has been prepared and approved by Government.

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