Barry Cowen (Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his response. I welcome the fact that, even at this late stage, at least we can expect publication of the Bill on Thursday, subject to Government approval. As he alluded to, however, the measures in the Bill cannot come into effect until such time as the legislation is passed through the Houses. Towards the end of his response, the Minister said he will be bringing forward some interim measures. Will he expand on those to see if they cater for the unfortunate people who had expected, based on the commitment made, that even allowing for the fact the Minister might forgo pre-legislative scrutiny, the Dáil might be in a position to enact such legislation as provided for in the Bill. In the absence of that, and I am sure the Minister will apologise for it, he might enlighten us as to what interim measures might be forthcoming.

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