Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

That is a clear commitment that the Taoiseach is now saying cannot be fulfilled because of the constitutional barrier. He would have been told that in advance of the formation of the Government. He was told there was a constitutional barrier. Everybody in the House was told there was a constitutional barrier as per the legal advice of the former Attorney General, and yet the Taoiseach decided to go ahead and put it into the programme for Government and make all sorts of election commitments promising people this would happen. There were Bills brought to the House etc.

There is no excuse for putting something in when the Taoiseach knew full well what the answer would be ultimately. He really raised the hopes of people and paralysed the situation for a good nine months, and then was forced in the budget to admit the position.

What are the implications of that in terms of other commitments in the programme for Government? That is what I am getting at. We need an honest review of the programme for Government in terms of what is possible and when.

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