Lynn Ruane (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Let us be realistic. It is very hard for an independent Senator to get a Bill through a load of Stages. The next time Senator Clonan gets to advance a Private Members' Bill could be six or ten months down the line and this Bill is to be stalled for 12 months. We are going into a general election. By the time the Senator gets another slot for a Private Members' Bill, it will probably be October and everyone will be in an election frenzy. I do not understand what is going to happen in the 12 months. This is an area on which I am sure the Minister of State has been extremely well briefed and on which she has briefed the senior Minister at the Department, so if anything the time has already been ticking for the past three years, rather than another 12 months being needed. This is simply a logistical question because I want to be here, as I am sure everyone does, engaging with the Minister of State as a junior Minister who we have taken as giving the commitment, accepting the challenges and coming to committees and being answerable to them. However, the other thing being said is there is a Minister who is not present and who wants a timed amendment on the legislation. Consequently, I am led to wonder who exactly we should be engaging with here. From our understanding it is the Minister of State, even though she is not at the Cabinet table. I therefore ask whether she supports the delay. That is the important thing, because she is the only one in the room with whom we can engage.