Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The House has set up procedures to deal with ideas proposed by Members. It is about taking the opportunity to have serious consideration. An issue such as this would have to be considered by the Cabinet so that we could take a collective view. That is only reasonable. With every other Bill, be it accepted or rejected, this is the approach that we take. Without giving any notice on Leaders’ Questions, the Deputy cannot expect me to have consulted other Cabinet members so that I might revert to the House with a collective view on how a particular Bill will be handled. That is not a reasonable expectation.

Like any other Deputy's proposal, Deputy Coppinger's must be taken seriously. We must evaluate proposals against all the criteria that the Cabinet is obliged to consider when considering issues such as this. I do not seek to stonewall; rather this must be considered by the Cabinet in the normal way.

See this speech in context