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Northern Ireland Act 2000 (Modification) Order 2007

I too thank the Minister for bringing the order before us. After it had been laid in another place, the Minister responded to my colleague with an explanation that the order was laid on a contingency basis, and that is what we are talking about. We know that the current order runs out on 14 April. Given the Easter Recess, there was not a great deal of time to pass the order. We do not criticise the Government for laying the order and pressing ahead with the debate. It would probably be irresponsible to do otherwise. However, I would like the Minister to explain a little more clearly why it would not have been possible to debate this order next Tuesday, 27 March, if it was necessary. By then, of course, we would have known on 26 March, the deadline, whether or not it would have been necessary: if an agreement was not reached by then, the debate could have gone ahead. But as things stand we are in an uncertain position because we do not know whether we actually need the order.