Vol. 540 No. 3
10 Ms O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage Gaeltacht and the Islands the progress made to date in the review of the National Monuments Acts, 1930 to 1994; when it is expected that the Consolidated National Monuments Bill will be produced; when she expects to publish the issues document; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20311/01]
Having circulated a draft memorandum for their comments to other Government Departments recently, I hope to be in a position to submit the draft heads of the Bill in respect of the proposed legislation to Government for approval very shortly. As indicated in my reply to Question No. 33 of 21 February 2001, I have decided not to proceed with the publication of an issues document, but instead to proceed with the introduction and implementation of the new legislation as soon as possible.
The Minister indicated that she had hoped to have these proposals with Government in June of this year. That deadline has not been met. Will the Minister indicate to the House when she will have the heads of the legislation ready? How big does she think the Bill will be and does she know what the likely drafting period will be, assuming that the heads are approved?
I thought I would publish an issues document, but the efforts that would be put into that would be better channelled into producing the legislation. It is a question of consolidation and a great deal of work is involved. The Consolidated National Monuments Legislation will have approximately 90 heads. I hope to get approval for the heads of the Bill very shortly. Subsequently, my Department will work closely with the office of the Attorney General on the complex task of drafting the legislation. Deputy O'Shea will appreciate that it is a very complex legal matter that warrants a steady approach.
It is too early to say when the Bill will be pub lished but I assure the Deputy that it is being worked on assiduously. I want to see it published as early as possible.
