Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister of State back to the House. On the last occasion I spoke to him in the House we were dealing with Fianna Fáil's Bill on homeowners in mortgage difficulty, at which time I suggested there was a wink and a nod that the Bill was worthy of progression. I regret his colleagues did not take the hint and that the Bill failed to receive support. Despite promises made at the time that the Government would bring forward a Bill to support people in financial difficulty, nothing has happened.

The Taoiseach, when in opposition and during the election campaign, promised that things would be done differently in terms of supporting Bills tabled by the Opposition that had merit. We have before us a Bill, not from a political party which could be accused of tabling a Bill for political gain, but from an esteemed lecturer in one of our best universities, yet it, too, despite huge praise and offers of support from the other side, will be voted down by the Government with, of course, a promise that it will bring forth a Bill which will introduce many of the measures proposed in it. It is ironic that, despite that many Members opposite are speaking in support of the Bill, one which it cannot be suggested is being introduced for political reasons, Senator Sean D. Barrett's Bill will mostly likely be voted down by the Government, which offers an example of just how dysfunctional is our democracy. The Senator has put enormous effort into putting the legislation together. He is, I hasten to add, probably more qualified in this area than anyone in the Minister of State's Department. We must wait not for elected representatives to bring forward a Bill but for public servants to do so. We do not know when this will happen, although we are promised it will happen soon. However, we were also promised that legislation to assist mortgage holders in distress would be introduced before Christmas. That was the promise made when Fianna Fáil's Bill was voted down.