Will the Taoiseach state whether all Stages of the protection of maternal life Bill will have been passed definitively before the summer recess?

Now that the Taoiseach has laid down the law for the Minister for Social Protection and declared that it is a question of austerity as usual, will he proceed with legislation to cut public sector wages before 1 July, as he announced previously?

I said to Deputy Martin that before we produce the protection of maternal life Bill, the heads must be approved by the Government and sent to committee for debate. The Bill will then have to be prepared and put through the Houses of the Oireachtas. I hope it can be dealt with and enacted before the House rises for the summer recess. It will probably be the second or third week in July, depending on how business goes. I do not want to confirm that because it is a sensitive Bill that requires proper analysis to give everybody the opportunity to have his or her say on it. It is so important. The lives of women and the unborn are central so I do not want to be too prescriptive or dictatorial about when it might actually be concluded, but I hope it can be enacted before the House rises for the summer.