Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

I have responded to this already. There is an issue on appeal to the Supreme Court and it needs to be clarified for the purpose of providing certainty regarding whatever laws are made in the future if we decide there should be a definitive timeframe within which by-elections are held. This is not the case under statutory law at the moment, but it should be decided and we need to have a Supreme Court interpretation behind the issue.

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