Alex White (Labour)

Will the Leader indicate what is proposed about the reports in the newspapers today that thousands of marriages conducted at embassies in Dublin have apparently been declared invalid? Will he indicate whether the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, or the relevant Minister, will respond to this extraordinary state of affairs, whereby hundreds of people who have lived in this country, many of whom have worked here, and got married in embassies in Dublin have been told that their marriages are, in fact, invalid? If the shoe was on the other foot and this was occurring to so many Irish people living abroad, one can imagine the level of justified indignation and high dudgeon there would be both here and elsewhere. Will the Leader indicate what is proposed to rectify this extraordinary state of affairs, whereby people are finding, in some cases three, four or five years after they were married in Dublin, that their marriages are invalid? This will have very serious implications for them in terms of the recognition of their marriages in their home countries.

While on the subject of people living abroad, I ask the Leader to respond to the call made by Senator Hannigan on a number of occasions in the House, to which I understood he had agreed, for a debate on the Irish Diaspora. This seems to be an appropriate time to have such a debate which has been called for on a number of occasions but not facilitated.

As we all know, the debate on the Finance Bill is about to finish in the other House. Presumably, the Bill will be taken in this House the week after next. I know the Leader is often not anxious to indicate when matters will be discussed until it is necessary or perhaps in his mind it is appropriate to do so, but given the importance of the Bill and in view of the fact that he has told many Members on both sides of the House that they can raise economic issues in the debate, will he indicate the timescale in mind for the debate on Second, Committee and Report Stages?