Could I ask the Minister the reason for the long delay in bringing forward this legislation? I would remind the Minister that he has been in that office for the last two and a half years and in that time this legislation has not been brought forward. Could I ask the background for this long delay?

As the Deputy will appreciate, there have been great difficulties about this legislation.

That is true.

One of the main difficulties is that it went before the legislation committee and took much longer than anticipated. That delayed the process by at least eight months.