Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I do not want to prolong this unnecessarily. I accept the Minister of State's point in terms of three years and three months. However, he and I both know that if a report comes back three years and three months into a term, the likelihood of the recommended changes being made into actual legislative changes by the time the five years is up is slim, to say the least. That is my concern.

Some of us on this side of the Chamber do not think the Minister of State has been ambitious enough, in particular in terms of mayoral powers. That was a theme in the Dáil. The Minister of State may disagree on that and he is entitled to his opinion. My point is that if a review acknowledges that more powers are needed, the Minister of State's timeline will not allow those powers to be put in place by the time the second mayoral election takes place. That is why I am concerned. We all know this. I am sure all of us, including the Minister of State, have been frustrated by how long it takes legislation to get through both Houses. It takes a long time.

The reality is that we have a committee system here, which is really good. It will have to examine the report. I think the Minister of State will acknowledge that. That has to be factored into the timeline. Can the Minister of State tell me how these changes will be made before the second mayoral election? I cannot see how it can happen.