Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

My reply to Deputy Flanagan would be that it is not a question of being reluctant. It is a question of getting it right, as far as the Government is concerned. Substantive work is being undertaken in these matters. This work is being co-ordinated by the Minister of State, Deputy Barry Andrews, in the Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs.

I made the point that there is work ongoing at the Attorney General's Office to bring forward. I am saying also that we all are agreed on the objectives but there are, on examination by Departments, issues of substance being raised that must be addressed.

It is not to take away from the work that has been done by the committee. The committee brought forward a draft wording that it believed would meet the requirements of the situation. That was agreed among the members of the committee. That is fine and valid in its own right, but as Deputy Flanagan will appreciate, Government then has a responsibility that is distinct from that as well.

It is not a question of a flaw in the parliamentary procedures. The parliamentary procedures worked well. Members went in with a view to coming forward with a clear understanding of what the objectives should be and what the proposed wording is.

As the Deputy will be aware, the wording brought forward is lengthy and involved. We all know that all of these matters must be very carefully worked through because every sentence is subject to judicial interpretation and if there are some unintended consequences which have been identified arising out of the good work that has been done, then it is right that should be interrogated and that we should come up with solutions so that we come back to the House, either at plenary or committee level, to go through them. That is what I expect Deputy Barry Andrews to do once the work has been completed.

Deputy Flanagan asked for a timeframe. As I stated, it is not a question of drift. There are issues that are being addressed. The Attorney General's office is involved in a drafting exercise to try to address those issues. Once it is brought back to the Cabinet committee and to Cabinet for our appraisal so that we can stand over it, we can defend it and we can say that it meets the requirements taking into account the work that has been undertaken by committees, etc., we can come back to the House to have that discussion and be able to interact with the House so that we can try to ensure that the all-party work that has been brought to this stage can hopefully be maintained.

See this speech in context