Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)

I do not intend to delay the House regarding this Bill. I will not use my allotted time on Second Stage. I accept the necessity of the Bill. The Labour Party supported the original Bill in 2001 and sees the current legislation as an extension of that. However, I am concerned we were not given adequate notice of this Bill. The Minister and his officials would have known for some time of the need for this legislation and I wonder why it was sprung on us at the last moment.

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