Lynn Ruane (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will not use all my time because I am not going to repeat points. Everything that has been said about why the Bill is necessary has already been said.

I am interested in getting the Minister of State's response to some aspects of this. I am a bit confused about the logistics. We have a Minister who is not in the room, who we have just been told wants a delay of 12 months and needs time. The Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, has been mentioned a few times, yet we are here with the Minister of State. I wonder what power she has. She is a junior Minister and is not at the Cabinet table but she has been given the brief. While she is the one who has been closest to the brief and who has been engaging with the services, she is also the one who comes to committee and makes commitments. On the one hand, therefore, we are saying that as a Minister of State she has the capacity and the ability to make commitments, but there is a Minster who is not in the room who is the one deciding more time is needed and it must be 12 months. Who then has the capacity and the power? I do not understand. We need to have a conversation with the Minister of State here and now, rather than a hypothetical thing about somebody else needing more time. The Minister may need 12 months but families and children are clearly saying they have no more time, so whose time is more precious here?