Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

More than 50% of the legislation that has been produced by this House has been guillotined and that has prevented debate. The Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Joan Burton, said when she was on this side of the House that the dependence on guillotines was patently and blatantly unfair, was an insult to the work of the House, was wrong practice and procedure and asked whether the then Government was effectively ruling by guillotine, which was the same as ruling by decree. She also said "it is important to allow sufficient time and respect for the House rather than simply having a guillotine and a jackboot approach to finishing off the legislation in the manner proposed". That is what the Minister who is behind this legislation said. She has not demonstrated one iota the reason for the rush to have this legislation passed by today. It is not time sensitive. We are not at the end but in the middle of a session. It was blatantly wrong for Taoiseach to say as he said a moment ago that legislation has to be passed by the end of this month. The House will not rise at the end of this month. The legislation is not time sensitive. The Taoiseach should lift the guillotine and look at his proposals in his programme for Government, his party's manifesto and on the record as to what he and other members of his Government said when they were on this side of the House.

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