Fine Gael deputy and solicitor Alan Shatter says he doesn't intend bringing forward any more private members' bills in the area of family and marriage law for some time - since he doesn't want his book to go out of date. He was speaking as the fourth edition of Shatter: Family Law was launched in the headquarters of the Incorporated Law Society in Dublin on Monday by the Chief Justice Liam Hamilton. Mr Justice Hamilton told the gathering, which included fellow FG deputy Alan Dukes, Mrs Justice Catherine McGuinness and the Israeli Ambassador Zvi Gabay, that the new edition of Family Law was eagerly awaited by academics and practitioners alike - especially as there had been so many changes in the area since the third edition in 1986. Shatter, he said, was the only TD without ministerial office to have three private members' bills adopted into law. So if there were some kind of trophy he would be entitled to keep it by now.
The Chief Justice, along with the Dail's new Ceann Comhairle, Seamus Pattison, will be acting head of state from the time the President, Mrs Robinson, steps down on September 12th until the inauguration of her successor, a couple of days after the Presidential election on October 30th. Unless the new Seanad meets in a hurry after next week's election there will be no Cathaoirleach for some time, so the top triumvirate will be a twosome. Before this onerous task - which may or may not require him to give up judging for two months - descends, Mr Justice Hamilton is off this weekend to a meeting of the American Bar Association in California and has a lunch appointment with the US Attorney General, Janet Reno.