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

It would appear that Committee Stage would be the best place to thrash the matter out.

I appreciate that Deputy Burke came to the Chamber. It was great to have a Fine Gael presence here for what is very much a Fine Gael initiative, namely, the strategic communications unit. I salute the Minister of State and Deputy Burke for having the gumption to actually come into the Chamber to take the medicine on that one and for not leaving an Independent Member to be hung out to dry, which is exactly what the poor Minister was bravely enduring for some time before they arrived.

On Deputy Burke's questions, the answer is "Yes" in respect of the points he made regarding parliamentary advice, parliamentary party ratification, civic society engagement and social media platforms engagement. I am aware that the Deputy is no longer in the Chamber to hear this.

A number of speakers indicated that, at the next stage in the process, we could have a detailed engagement with the various expert groups. I understand that this is what happens. My colleague, Deputy Cassells, introduced the Local Government (Establishment of Town Councils Commission) Bill last year. That Bill passed Second Stage and just this morning a number of interested parties and officials attended a meeting of the joint committee charged with scrutinising it. This is what we want. Unfortunately, things do not move quickly in this House. This is why we stress that there is an urgency about this matter. The House does not progress Bills very quickly so the idea of suspending the Bill or putting it on hold until some other slightly different or slightly better variation is proposed does not hold water.

There is agreement in the House. Most speakers have alluded to the fact that the legislation is needed, that it tackles a real problem and that said problem is growing. There is an urgency about it. Referendums are on the way in the new year. This is an international phenomenon and Ireland should not be left behind. The obvious thing to do would appear to be to progress the Bill to Committee Stage and thrash out the detail then. I thank all the speakers for their comments and intentions. We will push the Bill towards Committee Stage and will propose that as the next step. I look forward to seeing what happens at that point.

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