Brian Hayes (Fine Gael)

On behalf of the alternative, as the Leader called it, I reaffirm our commitment to the process should we find ourselves on the other side of the House in a few months' time. It is necessary, no matter who is in Government, that this work continues. Great credit is due to the Minister of State, his officials, the Attorney General's office and the specialised unit that was established some time ago. I am glad they have dealt with this issue in such a comprehensive way and made themselves so available to all Members of the House when queries were raised.

Those queries were raised in a genuine way. It is important — this was explained to me by an official yesterday — that we err on the side of caution, particularly in respect of Schedule 1. We do not want to simply take out of commission a statute or piece of legislation which could still have a modern-day application, difficult as that may be to foresee. An excellent job has been done and those responsible for the legislation have used common sense and erred on the side of caution. The job will continue and we hope to be in a position where all the legislation referred to in Schedule 1 will be repealed in future Bills that come before the Houses.

I thank the Government Chief Whip. One wonders whether he will be remembered in history as the man who obliterated virtually all pre-independence legislation in one fell swoop.