Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)

That is not what the Deputy said on his election posters.

The Minister for Finance is asking the House to agree that the Dáil should again come to the rescue of the Government in its own incompetence. The legislation involved was rushed through under the guillotine. The British-Irish Agreement Bill 1999, a 56-section Bill, was presented on 8 March 1999. The debate on all Stages got only as far as section 13. It was section 53 which exposed the State to the vulnerability now identified. That section was never debated in this House. What is being sought today is that once again we give the nod to all Stages proceeding in order to protect the State in these circumstances.

Will the Minister for Finance say when this frailty in the legislation was first discovered? What are its implications and, as Deputy Kenny asked, why must all Stages of the Bill be rushed through in this fashion? Will the Minister give an undertaking on behalf of the Government that we are not going to be regularly placed in such a situation? As the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform knows, the issue is again about property rights. It is not dissimilar to the legislation passed before Christmas regarding the long stay charges in nursing homes which was struck down. It was essentially the same issue and the same cause. Again, legislation was railroaded through the House by the Government without permitting serious scrutiny in the Chamber.

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