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Dáil
‹ Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation

Occupied territories Bill timeline

Summary

Deputy O'Gorman asked whether the Government would meet its own June timetable for the occupied territories Bill. The Tánaiste said he expected to bring the general scheme to Cabinet the following week and believed the timeline would be met.

The Tánaiste has committed to bringing his version of an occupied territories Bill to the foreign affairs committee in June. Is it going to happen? We have only two sitting weeks left in June. That would mean, in order to meet his own timetable, the Tánaiste would have to bring the heads of the Bill to the Cabinet next Tuesday or the following Tuesday. Does the Tánaiste believe the heads of the Bill will be ready to meet his timeline? Linked to that, the Tánaiste recently asked the Attorney General to give his advice on the Government's decision to omit services from the current Bill. Does the Tánaiste believe he will have that advice within that timeline to inform his own contribution to the pre-legislative scrutiny process?

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Simon Harris The Tánaiste Fine Gael

I thank the Deputy. It is my intention to bring the general scheme next week. There is a very small chance it will go to the following week but it is my working assumption that I will get it to the Cabinet next week so, yes, I believe we will meet the timeline in June.

I have been keeping in touch with the Chair of the foreign affairs committee, Deputy Lahart, about this. The Attorney General is doing that for me. I believe I will have that advice to help inform the PLS process. I probably will not have it in advance of the Bill going to Cabinet next week. It is likely that this Stage of the Bill will be published, as envisaged in the programme for Government, with goods. I reiterate that I want the PLS process to genuinely consider if the inclusion of services is possible from a legal point of view. We intend to bring the Bill forward next week, hopefully, and get it to the committee this month.

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