John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

To reflect on what has been said by all concerned, members have a short memory because they decided the procedure and process at last week's meeting. They decided they would agree to the timing of the amendments. I undertook to speak to the clerk, add to the report the members already had and issue a draft report. That draft was to reflect the views expressed by two other groups of witnesses who appeared before the committee. I changed my opening remarks in the report because I wanted to change them. Other parts of the report were added to and new parts inserted.

It was up to the members then to take that draft - it is only a second draft - and to decide on the changes that they want. They could come back here today and decide that they do not want to do it this week and we will postpone it until next week. That would have been fine. The reason we are caught in this time issue is because I presumed we were coming in to look at the amendments which I did not expect to be as complex as they are, but given that they are, we do not have the time to deal with it and it is a matter of postponing the consideration of those amendments and of the report itself to another date. The amendments are extensive and need consideration but it is in the hands of the members to decide. They are to decide what to do. If the decision is to postpone this and debate it on another day, which can be tomorrow, after the break, or whenever, the members can make that decision. To break the deadlock and to facilitate the other witnesses who are coming before us, I suggest that we put consideration of these amendments and of the report back to another day.

Apart altogether from what is contained in the amendments or the report, I suggest to Deputy Doherty that we will not be able to consider this today in the short time that we have. It is as simple as that. There was no indication on the day of our last meeting that the amendments to the report would be as extensive as they are. The question is whether the members agree to postpone consideration of the report until such time as we have considered every angle and aspect of that report and the amendments to it? Is that agreed?