Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

There is no reason to delay the report. The reason the Minister gave for the Bill is that the commission will dissolve at the end of the month when the report is handed over. While it is extremely important, the report is a side issue. The report should be published forthwith. In the context of what the Government said, however, once the report is handed over, the commission will be dissolved. That is what the Minister told us and he said that is the reason for the urgency in dealing with the legislation. Now we know that the commission will not be dissolved because the Minister is tabling an amendment to his own bad legislation and saying the commission will not be dissolved until February. If the Minister is not dissolving the commission for one purpose, surely he can get the report and not dissolve the commission if it is not necessary.

This is unreal stuff. I, more than anyone, want to see the report published. It should inform our debate about what legislation is necessary regarding the documents, as should the sixth report and all of the other documents, including those of the interdepartmental committee that was behind the commission and the debate in the Dáil. The Minister should please stop insulting us or misusing the report or the people who are waiting to read it. Will he be dissolving the commission or not when the report comes to him? According to the Act, it will be dissolved automatically once the report is handed over, but the Minister's amendment will ensure that it will not be dissolved. I will leave it at that.

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