Anne Ferris (Wicklow, Labour)
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Question 553: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality when he expects the general scheme of the Mediation Bill to be submitted to Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10695/12]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I am pleased to say that earlier today the Government approved my proposals for the Mediation Bill which will give effect to the undertaking in the Government's Programme for National Recovery (2011 – 2016) to encourage and facilitate the use of mediation to resolve civil, commercial and family disputes.

As indicated in Section G of the Government Legislation Programme published on 11 January, I intend to forward the General Scheme of the Bill to the Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality for any observations or suggestions they may have prior to finalising its contents. I also intend to publish the draft legislation on my Department's web site in the near future.

Eric Byrne (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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Question 554: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if any legislation regarding the regularisation scheme for undocumented migrants in Ireland will be introduced in Dáil Éireann this year or during the lifetime of the 31st Dáil; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10722/12]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I refer the Deputy to my reply below to Parliamentary Question No. 168 of 17 November 2011. The position is unchanged since then.

I am aware that there have been proposals of this nature and of course my Department will give due consideration to the issue. However great caution should be exercised before embarking on such a project. A proposal of this nature could give rise to very large, unpredictable and potentially very costly impacts across the full range of public and social services.

At EU level, the Member States, in agreeing the European Pact on Immigration and Asylum at the European Council in October 2008, made specific commitments "to use only case-by-case regularisation, rather than generalised regularisation, under national law, for humanitarian or economic reasons". While the Pact is not legally binding, the political commitment among the Member States, then and now, is clearly against any form of process that would in any way legitimise the status of those unlawfully present without first examining the merits of their individual case.

Any possible implication for the operation of the Common Travel Area would also have to be very carefully considered.