Parliament will rise for the summer recess on July 4 if the third reading of the Embryo Protection Act is approved by then, deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne told the House Business Committee on Wednesday.

If MPs could not settle the matter by that date, Mr Fearne indicated, MPs would put off their summer holidays for a while longer.

He said that the House would be having a series of bumper sittings starting from Wednesday and then again on May 7 and possibly May 8, to conclude the second reading of the Bill.

Dr Fearne told the Committee that following the conclusion of the second reading and prior to the start of its third, a broad public consultation on the amendments would be held.

Having taken President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca’s call for a mature debate into consideration, the government was proposing that the committee stage preceding the third reading would take place during an extra plenary session instead of in the Committee for the Consideration of Bills, so as to allow wider participation from MPs.

Although this would not allow the direct intervention of experts, both sides would be able to request advice from the experts who would attend the sitting. MPs would be able to relay the experts’ advice during their own interventions.

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