Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy does not need to read me his letters because I get them myself, although it is valuable to read them into the record of the House to demonstrate to people the frustration being experienced. I might not get them every day but certainly I receive them every second day from families who just want to have their legal status recognised. I appreciate their frustration. I am not sure who gave the commitment to have this done by October, but I hope to God it was not me. The only commitment I can give to the House today is that I am bringing forward a stand-alone Bill to make the amendments required from my Department to facilitate the commencement of Part 9 of the 2015 Act at the beginning of next year. I will be seeking the support of the House to pass the Bill in a speedy manner, given that we all want the same thing, and I will take it through the Dáil and Seanad as quickly as possible. That is contingent, however, on the administrative actions of the Department of Health. Those actions are a priority of that Department in the period immediately after Christmas. To be fair to the Department, the team of people who will be looking after this are the same people who have been here every night for the past couple of months until 11 p.m. or midnight working on another matter. We cannot split ourselves to make nine people, but that does not discount the frustrations of those who are waiting on this commencement. My commitment to them is that my Part will be addressed at the beginning of next year. The Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, shares that commitment equally.

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