Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister of State, but I cannot say that I welcome the passage of the Bill. The Minister of State – as I did – resisted the move to abolish the dual mandate when he held office in 1991. We did not succeed, however, and I waited eight years to be re-elected to the county council. The Bill is now going through its final Stages and, when enacted, it will be the Local Government (No. 2) Act 2003.