John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)

In an effort to be as helpful as possible, I said the debate was premature. The ruling on this matter was made early this morning. The Taoiseach was in the House until about lunchtime. I do not think it is unreasonable that the Government should be afforded a number of hours to discuss the matter before answering detailed questions. It is not that the Government has not dealt with it, or is not dealing with it practically in real time; it is that this debate is happening so quickly. The Deputy is seeking Government decisions concerning a ruling that was made a few hours ago. The Government has not had an opportunity to hold that meeting yet.

See this speech in context