James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputies, the Minister, Deputy Denis Naughten, and the Minister of State, Deputy Kyne, for contributing the debate. I listened intently to the different views expressed and I took note of what was said. I hope the Bill progresses to Committee Stage at which point we can consider the various issues.

I shall address the Government response first. It strikes me that said response is actually symptomatic of the Government's general response to most of the problems facing the State. The Government acknowledges that there is a problem, it is very concerned about it but it does not want to do anything. It certainly does not want Fianna Fáil to do anything about it. In that vein, I do not believe it is a particularly progressive response. I do, however, take on board the Minister's various concerns. I do not have time to deal with them all in detail but I believe they can be tackled on Committee Stage.

I listened very carefully to Deputy Stanley, who made a number of very considered points. I thank the Deputy and Sinn Féin for their support for the Bill. I look forward to debating the issues raised in respect of definitions, industrial relations and political ends. Again, these issues can be tidied up on Committee Stage and I would welcome an opportunity to do that.

The Minister made a point that I did not quite understand. He spoke of applying an 18th century solution to a modern problem. I might have missed something in translation but if that were the case, then we could not legislate for online gambling, data protection, information systems, the knowledge box and intellectual property. I may have missed something in the Minister's point-----

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