Rónán Mullen (Independent)

The Minister of State has reminded me of a story I heard about a man who went to his doctor and informed him that he thought he was Tom Jones, to which the doctor replied "It's not unusual". The Minister of State appears to use the phrase "not unusual" in order to justify the inaction of the Government. It is clear the Bill need not take effect until such time as the guidelines are ready. In such circumstances, it is no more than good administrative and governmental practice - no less than we should expect - that the Bill should come into force when the guidelines are ready. There does not appear, from what the Minister of State indicated, to be any coherent or sensible reason as to why this should not be the case.