Mary O'Rourke (Fianna Fail)

The Order of Business is No. 1, a referral motion whereby the subject matter of No. 14 on today's Order Paper is being referred to the Joint Committee on Justice, Equality, Defence and Women's Rights for consideration, to be taken without debate; No. 2, Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Bill 2004 — Committee Stage, to be taken at 3.15 p.m. until 5 p.m; and No. 3, Dormant Accounts (Amendment) Bill 2004 — Report and Final Stages, to be taken from 5 p.m. until 6 p.m.

No. 1 is a motion regarding a proposal for a directive which aims at promoting the use of mediation in civil and commercial matters. It contains a number of important provisions dealing with the enforceability of mediation settlements, the admissibility of evidence in civil proceedings and so on. The proposed regulation provides for a specific small claims procedure to be available in all member states as an option for those who are seeking a court decision in respect of a small claim that is capable of being specified in terms of a particular amount.