Under the Personal Insolvency Act the Minister was to bring forward the debt reduction guidelines for the personal insolvency service today. I can only speculate on whether they have perhaps been delayed to get the by-election out of the way. Given the distress caused by the remarks made by the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport that women do not have a right to work or that their work is secondary to the banks, or that families do not have a right to child care, is it not crucially important that we are clear on when these guidelines will be published? Will the Taoiseach make this clear today?

The guidelines will be drawn up and published by the personal insolvency agency. In response to a question from Deputy Micheál Martin earlier I made it crystal clear that guidelines would not include a condition that somebody would have to give up a job to reach a resolution of their financial circumstances. It just does not and will not apply. I hope I have made this perfectly clear for everybody.

I asked when they would be published. The Taoiseach did not answer that question.

Shortly.

I do not speak for the personal insolvency agency.

The Taoiseach could speak to it.

It is up to the agency to decide when it wants to publish them. It is obviously drafting the guidelines to which people have referred. It is a matter for the agency; it is not a function of the Government.

Does the Taoiseach not know?