John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)

As I said at the outset, in some regards this debate is premature. The Government will meet at 5 p.m. this evening and that will be the first opportunity it has had to discuss the matter. On a previous occasion, I indicated to this House that it was the Government's intention to move the writs for the three by-elections that existed at that time, in the first quarter of next year. Given today's ruling, however, the Attorney-General's advice to the Cabinet meeting this evening will be sought when we discuss the issue. The Deputy is asking me to speculate on decisions the Government may make later on.

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