Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)

When Abraham Lincoln commented on one of his generals to the effect that McClelland had "the slows", he could not have anticipated how slow the Irish Government could have gone in respect of particular promised legislation that was urgently needed and which I raised before, for example, the national vetting bureau Bill which is under consideration. Have the heads of the Bill been discussed? What degree of agreement has been reached on the heads of the Bill? When will it be brought before the House?

The Ceann Comhairle will agree that another very serious issue is the bail (amendment) Bill, which is also promised. On this, the Government states that it is not possible to indicate at this stage when it will be introduced. In view of the serious, and correct, emphasis on crime in the House at present, what attempts are being made to bring the Bill before the House as a matter of urgency?

Here is another matter that the Ceann Comhairle will love, on which we have huffed and puffed, brought the legislation before the House and passed, but still have not implemented. This is the Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act 2009 which was passed on 23 July 2009. The Minister must introduce a draft of restrictions in respect of the Bill, which are to placed before the House and adopted prior to the legislation being legally active. When is this likely to happen? It is promised.

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