Dan Boyle (Green Party)

——and an order will be signed to that effect, hopefully in the months to come.

Last Thursday Senator Fitzgerald asked about the position on the EU directive on environmental liability. This will be a part of the Environmental (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill to be published in the autumn.

Senator Fitzgerald also raised the matter of the newspaper report about Haulbowline Island, the consultant of the sub-contractor involved and threats made by the Government related to court cases being taken. It is my understanding that the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government stated, in reference to the contractual dispute, that it did not want information given to the sub-contractor in the course of undertaking that contract to be made public. In the meantime the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government has already made information available in the form of the 2005 report and has given a public undertaking that all information relating to the Hawlbowline site is, and will be, made available to the public. This includes information in the possession of previous Governments dating from 1995 and 2002. When all such information is available I wish to hear an explanation from those in Government at that time of why they sat on the problem.