Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

To use that awful phrase, "I am not ruling anything out or anything in". I do not want to prejudge what has been requested to be undertaken in this context. I did not envisage a timeline because there is a very detailed document for the senior counsel to read, consider, make recommendations on and to address according to the terms of reference. I do not envisage it being unduly long but I do not want to tie the hands of the individual who will be asked to undertake this task.

I am not tending to suggest it must be done within a certain number of number of months. If I could put it in general terms, it may take a few months but I would not expect it to take more than that, and it is not something I envisage going on, for example, from 2014 into 2015. I could not fathom that would happen but there may be a few months in it. I believe we would all be concerned if some reasonable time was not spent on it because it requires very careful consideration and, under the terms of reference, a very careful report will have to be prepared that can allow for what is appropriate to go into the public domain and also to respond to the other issue to which the Deputy makes reference.

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