asked the Minister for Labour the legislation pertaining to his Department which has been introduced and passed by both Houses of the Oireachtas since December 1982.

I assume that the Deputy's question refers only to statutes passed by the Oireachtas. During the period mentioned, the Protection of Employees (Employers' Insolvency) Act, 1984, was passed.

Would the Minister accept that that kind of programme of legislation for three years is abysmal to say the very least?

No, I would not.

Would he accept that for a Department who have a Minister and a Minister of State to succeed in having only one Bill passed in three years hardly justifies their existence in any form?

It would be a mistake — some Deputies from the other side have expressed this view — to pass laws simply for the sake of passing them without giving due regard to the impact they may have particularly in the complex area of industrial relations and the labour market generally where the operation of those laws requires the consent of the social partners. This House would need to take some time on that and, if the Deputy is anxious about the legislative record of this Administration in this area, I assure him that he will have ample time to debate at length and to enact legislation in this area.