Ivana Bacik (Independent)

There are certainly parallels between the rotten borough of the Dublin Docklands Development Authority and the one that was FÁS.

Since the Deputy Leader is taking the Order of Business, will he give an update on the progress with the climate change Bill? Heads of the Bill were promised to be published before Easter which gives us one more week for a debate on it before the House goes into recess? As he will be aware, there is a domestic and international momentum for this legislation. Since the collapse of the Copenhagen summit, it is expected that national legislatures will introduce their own climate change legislation. The Deputy Leader will recall I introduced a Climate Protection Bill in the House and which is still on the Order Paper.

Will the Deputy Leader give a date for the debate on women's participation in politics and, in particular, the report produced by the justice committee on it? This was promised to us many different times by the Leader. Given that Deputy Mary White has now taken responsibility from Deputy Moloney as the Minister of State with special responsibility for equality, human rights and integration, will the Deputy Leader give Members a date, as early as possible after Easter if it cannot be done next week, for when she can take such a debate in the House? It would mark an historic occasion that for the first time in 90 years one of the Houses formally debated the issue of women's participation in politics. It is an opportunity for the Seanad to steal a march on the Dáil by having the debate first.