Steven Matthews (Wicklow, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. I agree with a number of the points he made. We were briefed yesterday on the detail of the Bill. At the request of Deputy Ó Broin, the committee secretariat will request the Minister to come before it, when I have no doubt we will put questions to him on the manner in which this request came before the committee and the committee having to make this decision. In terms of rushing it, I do not mean to rush Deputy Ó Broin; I try to give everybody time, but I try to keep the meeting relevant to the issue on the agenda. My view on rushing the legislation is that if we were to go down the route of pre-legislative scrutiny, we would end up with such a tight timeframe it would not be possible to allow for timely debate of all Stages of the Bill or for every Member of the Oireachtas to participate or, at least, have the option to participate in that debate, to table amendments and to discuss the various Stages of the Bill as it progresses through the Houses of the Oireachtas.

The next speaker is Senator Mary Fitzpatrick, followed by Deputies O'Donoghue, McAuliffe and Cian O'Callaghan. I wish to put the question, so I ask members to be brief. The purpose of this meeting is to take a decision on whether to waive PLS. If we decide to waive PLS, the Bill will go through the Houses of the Oireachtas in a timely manner. If we decide to undertake PLS, the questions and suggestions made by Deputy Ó Broin can be fully addressed at that point. I reiterate we are here today to take a decision on PLS.

I call Senator Fitzpatrick and reiterate my request that members be brief with their contributions.