Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

It has passed that limit altogether. There is a misconception among the public that once it passes the 270 days, the Bill falls. I believe that the Bill passed 322 days, with effect from yesterday. However, it remains on the Order Paper in the Seanad, and as long as it is on the Order Paper, it can be debated. The only way it could fall is the way the judicial appointments Bill fell. It exceeded the 300 days but it remained on the Order Paper and was debated right up until the fall of the Government in 2020. At that time, the Bill then fell. The public need to be aware that the Bill would fall if the Dáil were dissolved, even though it would still be on the Order Paper in the Seanad. When a new Government and a new Seanad is formed, it falls to the Government to ask for that Bill to be put back on the Order Paper. It does not necessarily mean that a Bill is gone forever if a Government falls.

What Deputy O'Donoghue said makes perfect sense. Get amendments in now and take out the things that are repugnant to free speech. All of us in this room received some of the most horrendous stuff online about us, about our friends and colleagues and about politics. There are thousands of times when we are the subject of hate speech, sometimes deserved and sometimes not. At the end of the day, we cannot limit free speech. I would rather people were able to say what they wanted to say. This is the matter for the Seanad right now.