Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Senator Marie-Louise O'Donnell raised the issue of housing. We had the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government in the House last week for a housing debate. He will be in today to conclude his remarks. My advice to the Senator on the point she raised on housing is to put a Commencement matter before the House.

On the Assisted Human Reproduction Bill, my information is that the heads were approved on 3 October. The Senator raised the issue last week and I share her views. There was pre-legislative scrutiny on 19 December and 17 January and it is continuing. Work is being done on this Bill that is not as easy as it first appeared. That is the information I have but I will endeavour to obtain more for the Senator.

With regard to Parts 2 and 3 of the Children and Family Relationships Act, the work is still ongoing. It will be commenced as soon as possible. All of us share the views expressed by the Senator regarding both matters.Senator O'Reilly made one of the best contributions to the Order of Business today when he spoke about reform of the Central Applications Office, CAO, process. There is complete merit in what he suggested in this regard. Having spent 20 years myself in the classroom, I saw the benefit of a non-traditional leaving certificate pathway for young people to college. I know of some young people who have done the leaving certificate applied and gone to college through it. Senator O'Reilly's idea about the allocation of points for social work and social action, as well as sporting and cultural participation, is done in other jurisdictions and has its merits. It deserves to be heard and debated. I commend Senator O'Reilly on that.

We will endeavour to find time for a debate on the Shane O'Farrell case. On his point about an architect, again I suggest he requests this is taken as a Commencement matter to give it a public airing.