Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

In outlining the position of the Government on the Bill, I should have said the Government considered the Bill on its own merits. No representations were received from the Law Society in regard to it. I understand Senator Leyden has been in correspondence with the Law Society about this measure. He is correct that the Law Society should not have a conclusive view on legislation of this type. I accept we must act in the public interest and do what is best in that regard. The concern of the Government is that the well-established reliability which attaches to the documentation issued by the General Register Office could be undermined were we to legislate that wills would be registered there without any assurance of their validity or contents.