Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael)

Senator Fitzgerald made some interesting points on how Members should proceed on their return after Easter, with which I concur completely and I am sure the Leader will take them up. All Members wish to keep the House topical and entirely relevant.

As Senator Boyle noted, yesterday the Leader inadvertently overlooked or did not have the opportunity to respond to some points he made. The same is equally true of some points I made regarding No.3 on the Order Paper, the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill. My understanding is that this Bill will provide for a legal services ombudsman. However, in the Dáil last week, the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, Deputy Brennan, who was deputising for the Taoiseach, mentioned the criminal justice (miscellaneous provisions) Bill. While I do not believe he was talking about the same Bill, the Leader should clarify this matter because the Minister spoke of the necessity for some restructuring. When is it intended to introduce the Bill? Is it true that it is being restructured and, if so, what is the reason?

The second point pertained to the matter of the national property services regulatory authority Bill, which also is promised. As Members are aware, that authority is in being run on an interim basis without statutory effect at present. This is a matter on which Senator Ross initiated debate in this House in 2005 and it had the support of the House. It is largely as a result of that debate that the Government took action. We now have this authority and a Bill is promised to give it statutory effect. I understand that approximately half of auctioneers have already signed up to the code of conduct. Given the importance of proper standards for public confidence, I ask the Leader to indicate when the Bill will be forthcoming.