Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)

I agree with the Deputy this is not the right way to do our business and I put my hand up to acknowledge it should not have happened this way. During the previous Dáil I spent considerable time in committees asking the questions raised by the Deputies opposite. However, the reason why it was not possible to discuss the matter in committee was because a meeting agreed with the relevant committee was postponed at the last minute. The suggestion of conspiracy or bad faith on the part of the Government does not agree with the facts. We sought a meeting with the committee but it was postponed at the last minute.

In regard to the 31 March deadline, this appears to be a fetish for the Government in terms of a number of things that are happening.

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