Vol. 483 No. 1
52 Mr. Spring asked the Minister for Finance if he will outline the timetable for the drafting of the Valuation Bill; the period allowed for consultation in this regard; the ranking the Bill has with the parliamentary draftsmen in the Attorney General's office in view of the Taoiseach's undertaking that the Bill will be introduced in the middle of 1998; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19702/97]
While consideration of the draft heads of the proposed valuation Bill in my Department is almost complete, I am unable at present to outline the timetable requested. The draft heads of a Bill are at an advanced stage of preparation and as soon as these preparations are complete it will be necessary to obtain the views of other Departments. I would envisage that that stage could take a matter of weeks because of the complexity of the issues involved. As soon as that consultation process is complete and its results taken on board, the Government will be asked to consider a memorandum on the issue together with the general scheme of the Bill.
