Bernard Allen (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)

I am indicating that I object to taking Report Stage. The Minister has lost all credibility. He has had an arrogant attitude to the issues raised by Opposition spokespersons and the experts who attended the hearing at the request of the Minister and the committee on 18 December last. Following the hearing of 18 December, questions under the 41 headings raised by experts were not answered for more than a month by officials of the Department. It went from December to February before answers were given to some of the questions raised. I know what happened. The committee adjourned for lunch and the whip of the Department got an instruction to collapse the committee's hearing. That afternoon, by weight of numbers, Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats rushed through a motion——

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