Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I did not interrupt the Minister of State. She will get her chance to speak. It is obvious to any objective observer why she did not address that in her reply. She mentioned no timeframe. We know it is going to fall, so in fact it has been long-fingered. It is reminiscent of the dereliction of this and the last Government in failing to implement the recommendations of the report from the Competition Authority in 2006 which specified that increased competition was needed for consumers of legal services. The troika and others emphasised that, and I know the members of the troika were still pressing it at their most recent meeting here. This is evidence of a failure to recognise what the priorities should be. The Minister of State's reply rings very hollow. She stated that it was "of the utmost importance that the legislation be advanced within a speedy timeframe," but we have been bloody well waiting ten years for it. Whoever writes this kind of gobbledegook should be brought to heel. If someone in the House takes the matter seriously, it is not good enough to come back with a reply like this. It does the Minister of State no justice. I know it is not her fault, as she is in the Department of Health, but it reflects badly on the Department of Justice and Equality. We are very well aware from the report last year that we have a dysfunctional Department of Justice and Equality.