The Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Ruairí Quinn, and the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, published an anti-bullying strategy yesterday which focuses on the issue of homophobic bullying. At the same time as the strategy is being published a person could lose his or her job in a religious-run school or hospital because of his or her sexual orientation. The programme for Government committed to amending section 37 of the Employment Equality Act 1998. When will this be done? My colleague in the Seanad, Senator Averil Power, introduced a Bill over a year ago which was not accepted by the Government. It is hypocritical to introduce guidelines to deal with the issue of homophobic bullying when the Government is not taking action which is within its power to amend employment legislation. When is it intended to do so and to do so promptly?

I do not have a date for publication of that legislation to amend section 37 of the Employment Equality Act 1998. The output and throughput of legislation in the House have been extensive. Much of that legislation has been introduced to meet a requirement because the country is in a programme which has a timeline and is governed by the troika memorandum of understanding. I discussed yesterday with Deputies the extensive list of legislation to be brought before the House in the context of how we draft and prepare legislation. It is suggested we should perhaps focus on a set number of Bills in any one session, the ones we wish to prioritise during the year. We may need to begin dealing earlier with the preparation of legislation at departmental level and taking advice from the Attorney General. I will advise the Deputy of the current stage of preparations to deal with the particular amendment mentioned.