I propose to take Questions Nos. 2, 4, 16, 17, 27 and 59 together.
The position remains that when the Government has made its formal decision on the proposed constitutional amendment on divorce the details, as they must, will be announced by way of a Bill. That is the basis on which the Government's decision must be announced because, as Members of the House will be aware, it is the proposal in that Bill that will form the basis of the debate in both Houses and, on the Bill being passed by both Houses, the proposal it contains will be the basis on which the people will be asked to vote "yes" in the referendum on the matter.
The timing of the Government's announcement regarding the details of the Bill will depend on the timing of the referendum. At this stage the target date of 30 November next would require that the Bill be published at the latest in October next and, as indicated by me on several occasions in reply to questions, one of the matters affecting a decision on the timing of the referendum will be the outcome of the case that is currently before the Supreme Court regarding a challenge to the constitutionality of provisions in the Judicial Separation and Family Law Reform Act, 1989. In finalising proposals for divorce the House will appreciate that the Government would wish to be in a position to have the benefit of the Supreme Court's deliberations on the law in relation to judicial separations so that account can be taken of those deliberations in putting a shape on divorce law proposals. I can assure the House that in devising its proposals the Government will also have in mind the need to have comprehensive measures dealing with the financial and other consequences of divorce for dependent spouses and children.
In the meantime, I am continuing the process of consultations with interest groups and persons and I am examining all submissions made to me. Among the consultations publicly announced in recent weeks were meetings with the Fianna Fáil Party and the Progressive Democrats. Among other meetings I had in the same period were meetings with the ICA, the Council for the Status of Women, Women's Aid, AIM, the Divorce Action Group and FLAC. That process of consultations will continue with the aim of reaching the maximum consensus possible on the approach which should be taken on divorce in the referendum.
Consultations between the political parties have been, and will continue to be, part of that process and it is fair to say that recent debate has helped all sides to crystallise their views further on the matter. The Government is committed to the holding of further meetings with the Opposition so that its views can be taken into consideration as far as possible by the Government in making its decision on what should be provided for in the constitutional amendment Bill proposal.
The Government's information programme on divorce, for which £500,000 has been allocated to my Department, will be on similar lines to recent referendum programmes. The information will be of a factual nature. No public relations or advertising firms have been engaged to date in connection with the programme. However, the Market Research Bureau of Ireland was commissioned recently to carry out a poll on the views of people regarding the options for dealing with divorce in the Constitution. The cost of the survey is approximately £15,000. An information leaflet has recently been issued by my Department outlining the legislative and administrative measures in place to deal with protection and support of families. The leaflet puts in context some of the issues relating to divorce. The cost incurred by current printing of the leaflet was £868. The cost of the survey and the leaflet will be met from the sum of £500,000.
The vast majority of cases dealt with by Legal Aid Board solicitors are family law cases and many of those cases concern judicial separations. The issues involved in separations such as maintenance, what should happen to property, including the family home, rights of succession and the care of children would also arise in the context of divorce, and solicitor staff of the board will be in a position to deal with those issues as they arise in cases of divorce. I am informed by the board that, as in the case of the introduction of any new major legislation, the board would, in the event of divorce laws being enacted, be reviewing the position so as to ensure that its staff are fully informed to deal with new issues raised by the matter.
I have on several occasions given details to the House about the programme of family law reform to which the Government is committed in the run-up to the referendum. The main legislative and administrative measures which I am concerned to have dealt with by the time of the divorce referendum are the Family Law Bill, 1994, the Civil Legal Aid Bill, 1995, the Domestic Violence Bill, which will be published shortly, and implementation of further phases of development for the Legal Aid Board, the Family Mediation Service and counselling services on the basis of the substantial funding provided by the Exchequer to those areas. I can report continued progress on those matters in recent months. In large measure they address the many submissions which I have received on various aspects of marital breakdown.
I have promised that a draft of the Divorce Bill which would be introduced in the event of a "yes" vote in the referendum will be published at the same time as the amendment of the Constitution Bill. That Divorce Bill will set out for the information of voters the exact details of the powers the court will have to protect and support spouses and children following the granting of a divorce decree and it will contain provisions corresponding to those in the Family Law Bill, 1994.
Other matters which are primarily the responsibility of the Minister for Finance in relation to the tax aspects of divorce, of the Minister for Justice in relation to the courts and of the Minister for Social Welfare in relation to the social welfare aspects are also the subject of proposals for reform in anticipation of divorce.