I move:
That the period for reporting back of the Joint Committee on Building Land be extended to 30 June, 1985.
For the information of the House, may I make a short statement? The Joint Committee have before them the draft final report for consideration and adoption. Since their establishment in March 1983 the present committee held 28 meetings and since January 1984, 21 meetings. The committee's normal practice has been to meet one day each week. The work of the committee has been held up because of the delay in making available the Attorney General's legal opinion on the constitutional effects of the McKinney Report. There was a delay of up to six months before the committee received a legal opinion on those proposals. The committee were empowered in March 1984 to engage specialist advisers to help in their assessment and examination of the material and submissions before them and in the preparation of the committee's final report. The committee commenced consideration of the first draft of their final report at a meeting on 5 July 1984 and the second draft of the final report is currently under study by the committee.
Given the complexity of the matters referred to the committee for consideration, the committee have not found it possible to proceed with their deliberations at a rate which would enable them to make a final report before the date appointed by Dáil Éireann and Seanad Éireann. The committee are anxious to submit a comprehensive and fully considered final report and they, therefore, request Dáil Éireann and Seanad Éireann to extend the date by which they are required to report to 30 June 1985.