Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

Responsibility for devising the Estimates falls, under the Constitution, to the Government, which has highly structured engagement on the issue which often lasts many weeks before arriving at final decisions.

As Deputy O'Donnell is well aware I will express my opinions on the McCarthy process to my colleagues in Government, the appropriate place for me to express them. I do not see much scope for emergency Government meetings since our routine Government meeting on Tuesday morning, as the House is in almost continuous session every day this week. I will bring the report before my colleagues at the earliest opportunity available to me.

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