David Norris (Independent)

I compliment the Minister of State and his advisers who have played a role in this matter. Of course, I am not for a second suggesting that the Minister of State relies extensively on the advisers, but they were a good team. The Minister of State showed himself to be in full command of this Bill. I was a bit surprised when I discovered that no amendments had been tabled to the Bill because this House has a number of eminent legal people among its Members. When I mentioned this to them they said the Bill was not bad. It is good to have a Bill that apparently does not require extensive amendment, which is a tribute to its draftsmanship, even though I raised a technical point. I see the Minister of State is waving the Constitution at me. Perhaps over a friendly cup of tea at some stage during the week, I may have the benefit of his further wisdom on this matter. I compliment him in particular on answering the points effectively, especially after a fairly gruelling time last night. I was watching him on television and he behaved with considerable dignity under pressure in a difficult situation. We in this House welcome the professionalism he brings to his job.