Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On behalf of the Minister for Justice and Equality, I wish to thank Deputy Pringle and other speakers for the opportunity to address these issues in the House. As the Minister of State, Deputy Kehoe, indicated earlier, we are looking forward to a further debate in the House on this issue when the report of the Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality becomes available in due course.

The Minister, Deputy Shatter, has entrusted the committee with a difficult task, and a process of public deliberation is ongoing. In those circumstances, Deputies will appreciate that, at the request of the Minister for Justice and Equality, it is not open to me to comment in any great detail on the content of Deputy Pringle's Bill, or any alternative legislative proposals that would pre-empt the consultation process and the joint committee's report.

However, this is a very important subject that merits the type of scrutiny that is advocated. We will therefore await the report. For as long as the review and the public consultation are ongoing, the Minister for Justice and Equality has indicated that he is prepared to have an open mind. Given the level of public interest in this issue and even though there are differing views, the Minister wants to provide an opportunity for all the views involved to be heard.

I thank Deputies for their contributions to this debate.

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