John Dardis (Progressive Democrats)

I am as anxious as anybody to have the matter discussed. The Leader gave a commitment yesterday. Serious efforts were made overnight and again this morning to ensure the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform would come to the House. The Minister has always been amenable to coming to the House. As recently as five minutes before the Order of Business, he indicated to me personally that he would attend if at all possible. People must understand that the priority is to rectify the matter. He must have a lead role in this matter. It is a simple issue in one sense but, as Senator Hanafin pointed out, it is an extremely complicated legal issue. The Minister's primary focus must be on that. If he can at all, he will come to the House and I give the House an assurance that I will endeavour to ensure that he comes here. I will set aside an hour between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. to discuss the matter on the basis of contributions by one spokesperson for each group. Hopefully the Minister will be present to put his point of view but I cannot guarantee that. I will make every effort to ensure that happens.

The will of the House is clear and it would be wrong not to be in accord with it. A lady who represents the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre stated on radio earlier it would be wrong to be reactive about this matter. There is a great deal of truth in that and we need to be calm and reflective. The House has a very good record of debating difficult issues such as Northern Ireland and abortion in a calm, reasoned and non-partisan way and I hope that will be in evidence again during the discussion on this matter later. Clarity is needed but I do not agree with the proposition that there is a black hole. The issue hinges on section 11 of the 1935 Act, which concerns whether a person knows his or her victim is under age and everything flows from that. It is obvious to every Member that it must be rectified quickly. The Dáil will deal with this matter next Wednesday. We have no control over that House and I do not know how long the legislation will take but if it comes out of the Dáil next Wednesday or Thursday, the House will sit to deal with it.

There is no disagreement about the need to protect our children and all parties have done that over the years. The legislation in question has stood for 70 years without challenge and the Constitution is in place almost as long. As Senator Maurice Hayes stated, we are where we are for good or ill and we must deal with this issue. I hope this proposal is satisfactory. Victims must be protected and there is no disagreement about that. The Minister has primary responsibility to rectify the problem together with the Government and the Oireachtas. I am sure the Houses will dispose of the legislation as expeditiously as possible.

I am in the Leas-Chathaoirleach's hands regarding Senator Ryan's amendment because I am not sure about the procedure involved but it is not my intention to accept it.

Senator Leyden referred to the 100th anniversary of the death of Michael Davitt, which is an important occasion. I was a member of the All-Party Committee on the Constitution that issued a report on private property, which should be debated. The committee's primary responsibility is to report to the Taoiseach and, therefore, I am not sure about the role of the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government in the matter but that can be teased out. However, the issue could be usefully debated by the House. The Senator also referred to the Registration of Wills Bill 2005 and the Law Society. Similar to other groups in society, if legislation is passed, the society has a responsibility to implement the will of the Oireachtas and I am confident that it will do so.

Senator Mansergh raised the issue of the broadcasting of farming issues. I must declare a vested interest, as I broadcasted about farming for quite a while. It has been evident over a long period that the attention our national broadcasting station pays to the industry is declining rapidly. Numbers in the industry have also declined but it is central to our economy and society. It would be regrettable if the work of Michael Dillon, Joe Murray and others in RTE was not sustained into the future. The Senator has made a good point and I will communicate his views to the RTE Authority.

I share Senator Finucane's distaste on the matter concerning the chief executive officer of the Health Service Executive. It is a matter of contract and the executive must decide whether it awards bonuses but, in the context of what the Senator described, it is difficult to take. The best people deserve the best pay and that is the way to attract them but that is a separate issue.

The Leas-Chathaoirleach must decide whether No. 7 can be moved.