Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)

I was a member of the All-Party Oireachtas Committee on the Constitution, which produced the sixth progress report dealing with the referendum process. That report was prepared with great care and diligence. The Chairman, Deputy Brian Lenihan, was key to defining the recommendations in it. Under his guidance clear consensus was arrived at that what was being presented was a reasonable and thoughtfully prepared framework for holding referendums that would protect the public interest from Government abuse and incompetence. Regrettably, the approach of this Government as regards the particular referendum proposal is diametrically opposed to the recommendations in that report.

The recommendations were short but comprehensive. One was to amend the Standing Orders of this House to embody the presumption that every TD and Senator would have sufficient opportunity to contribute to the debate. That is not being complied with. In fact the truncated debate today flies in the face of such an inclusive approach. Limited time is being allocated outside a normal Dáil session in order to rush through a Bill about an issue of citizenship that deserves proper and calm deliberation, but regrettably it will not get it.

Another recommendation was that the Standing Orders should provide for the establishment, as necessary, of an all-party Oireachtas committee, either before a Bill is being printed, where the exact terms of the proposal need to be formulated, or after the Bill has been printed. There is need to evaluate the issues on the basis of a review of the knowledge of experts and the presentation of insights from groups outside the Houses of the Oireachtas, and for the publication of a report. Again, the Government is totally disregarding this approach. In fact the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform is being reckless at a time when reflection is called for. His is a dishonest approach, when deliberation is required. He stated this morning: "I see no reason this matter should be referred to the Joint Committee on the Constitution, since by their stances already publicly expressed on the Government's proposals, at least two of the parties represented in this House have declared their opposition."

That is irresponsible. There is clearly no attempt to seek out any kind of party consensus on this. It is evident, particularly in this House, that the Government is showing arrogance and disregard for an issue such as this that needs to be attended to, as far as possible, within an all-party framework. What is most disturbing about the Government approach, however, is its contempt for the parties in Northern Ireland. It is not acceptable to me as a Member of this House to find the leader of the SDLP being so concerned as to criticise the Government with regard to that contempt. That is not the way good politics is practised. What we see here is a Minister, who certainly is not lacking in intelligence, but has no political sense at all as to what is appropriate when it comes to his responsibilities with regard to the Constitution and the Good Friday Agreement.

To have ensured that there was all-party discussion and time and space provided for hearings would have led to the best possible outcome on what is a complex issue. Putting our heads together on this issue is still the preferred option rather than being at loggerheads, but that is not what this is about. This is not about finding the best solution to a problem we all recognise exists. This is about taking an opportunity to damage the Opposition while trying to maximise support for the Government.

We all understand that Fianna Fáil and show politics go together, but Fianna Fáil and the PDs, in particular, are moving this into dangerous territory which goes way beyond the normal bounds of electioneering. Having listened to the contribution of the Minister I am deeply dismayed. The temperature has already been raised. This constitutional amendment is not about asylum seekers, as Deputy Wilkinson said. It is not even about immigrant workers. However, a Minister used this opportunity to send out the kinds of signals that give licence, as Bruce Morrison so well put it, to bring out the worst in people.

Deputy Wilkinson is an honourable man but I wish he would keep his lectures for his own party.

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