Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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If there is still time, Sir, I hope you might look favourably on a special notice question to pursue aspects of this matter with the Minister. He has now told us that he assented in the complaint being made.

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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That is not true. I did not assent to anything.

Deputies:

Are you a Minister or not?

Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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It sounds like Pontius Pilate washing his hands to me.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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I seek your advice, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle. There has been a trend in recent times for Ministers to reply to parliamentary questions on areas over which they have responsibility, stating that they have no responsibility to the House. I put down a question on a matter last week——

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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It is because it is about the way we conduct business in the House.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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There is no other method whereby this can be discharged.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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One of my questions asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform to indicate how he calculated the legal costs of the Mahon tribunal. I do not understand how that cannot be a matter for the Minister in the House, because he has spoken about it everywhere but in the House. It is about time he accepted his responsibility.

I also wanted to ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government whether he would approve the funding for the various sewage treatment schemes where there is serious pollution being caused to rivers and waterways. I got a reply from the Ceann Comhairle's office stating that the Minister has no official responsibility to the House.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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The Minister has responsibility to the House. He funds the local authority. He provides every single penny of capital grants required for the local authority. I strongly object to this growing practice whereby Members of the House are excluded from the information which is then being fed to Government Deputies and candidates on the ground ad libitum.

Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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Will the Minister allow time for a debate on the report adopted by the European Parliament on 14 February regarding extraordinary rendition?

In view of the upcoming rugby match in Croke Park, what is the Minister's policing plan for the event? We all remember the shambles in O'Connell Street during the Love Ulster rally and the fact that there was no policing plan on that occasion. Does he have a plan A or plan B on this issue?

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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As may be apparent from what I contributed earlier, I do not make policing plans. I do not plan who is or is not arrested.

Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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The Minister did not even bring plans to the Cabinet.

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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The Whips can discuss whether there should be a debate on the issue of rendition. I do not think time will be available for a debate on the issue. The Deputy can raise the matter during Private Members' time or on the Adjournment.

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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We will take no lectures on human rights from stickies.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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I am looking for advice on a number of Bills. Has work commenced on No. 63 on the Government's legislative programme, which will allow the Director of Public Prosecutions to appeal against unduly lenient sentences? If so, how much progress has been made with it? When is it expected that the proposed family law and enforcement of fines Bills will be published? If the Bills will not be published in the near future, will the heads of the Bills be published soon? Has the Money Advice and Budgeting Service Bill 2007, which is replacing the Money Advice and Budgeting Service Bill 2002, been published? If not, when will it be published? The Government's legislative programme states that such a Bill will be introduced.

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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The Deputy will have to table a question for the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if he wants to get more information about the Minister's proposals for dealing with the Money Advice and Budgeting Service.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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I did not ask about his proposals. I asked whether a new Bill has been published, as indicated in the Government's legislative programme. When will the replacement legislation be introduced?

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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The Deputy will have to ask the Minister how he is getting on with the replacement legislation, as I am not in a position to give details on the matter. While it is not possible to give the Deputy a date for the publication of the proposed enforcement of fines Bill, I can inform him that the Fines Bill 2007 has been ordered for Second Stage. The proposed family law Bill will be introduced later this year.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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A Leas-Cheann Comhairle——

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Can I ask another question, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle?

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I will be very brief. I would like to ask about the proposed referendum on child protection. As the leader of his party and the deputy leader of the Government, does the Tánaiste share the view on the referendum that has been expressed by various parties? There are no political difficulties or divisions in respect of the issues of absolute defence and soft information, which have been considered in detail by the committee. Does the Tánaiste think the obvious difficulties in that regard could be dealt with at an early date? Does he agree the issues of children's rights and welfare, which are the subject of confused or incomplete debate, could be dealt with at a later stage? Why are the two questions being rolled into one? As the leader of his party and the deputy leader of the Government, what is the Tánaiste's view on that? I ask him to comment on the matter.

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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As the leader of my party and a member of the Government, I agree with the position that has been adopted by the Taoiseach on this matter. The terms of the proposed Bill, which have been circulated to the House, have been considered at length. The two aspects of this issue to which Deputy Kenny referred — the protection of children and the provisions relating to soft information — are worthwhile. The other provisions, which will allow children in long-term fostering to be adopted, for example, are also quite urgent. They have been talked about for longer than the outcome of the A case or the issue of soft information, which is of comparatively recent origin. At what stage should we decide that children in long-term fostering who may not be adopted are also a priority? I do not want to be argumentative with the House or with the Deputy, who has said there appears to be political confusion on this matter. I do not know where such confusion is arising. I have not heard from any of the Opposition parties any substantive objection to the provisions of this child protection amendment, about which they claim to be undecided. If the Opposition parties were to point out an aspect of this matter which could cause political difficulty or confusion, it would be a different matter. I ask every Member of the House, across all benches, to listen to the strong plea of the child care and protection organisations for us to pursue this agenda. They do not think we should split up this Bill, thereby delaying the implementation of protections for people in fosterage. They think we should do something decent to rescue such people from the limbo they are in.

Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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They say it is more important to get it right than to rush it.

Damien English (Meath, Fine Gael)
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The Government has had five years to do something.

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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At what point will we feel there is a moral imperative to rescue such people from this situation?

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Why are we having just one question?

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Why not have two questions?

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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The Tánaiste has gone silent again.