I wish to explain that we had sought to have a Minister from the Department of Foreign Affairs to come before the House to take statements on the Middle East. Neither the Minister nor the Minister of State from that Department was able to be present but I was told that a Minister of State from another Department would attend. It appears that the Minister of State who was due to attend has been delayed in the Dáil due to a disruption of business which occurred there this morning.
I have been trying to resolve this problem for the past 90 minutes and the most recent telephone call I received indicated that there is no Minister of State available at present. I can only be guided by the House in either postponing the taking of statements until another day or proceeding without a Minister of State and sending the transcript of the debate to the Department of Foreign Affairs. The position is unsatisfactory and I apologise for the inconvenience caused.