Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)

One of the reasons the taking of the University College Galway (Amendment) Bill was facilitated in the short time envisaged was that it dealt with the university itself and the amendment to the 1929 Act. Is the Government seriously taking for granted that this agreement can now be diluted and cast aside on the basis of introducing the Teaching Council Act 2001? This matter should be the subject of a meeting with the Whips before it proceeds. Deputy Boyle certainly was not informed about the Teaching Council aspect of this legislation and it appears that neither were the other Whips.

If the House is to proceed in an orderly fashion we should know in advance what legislation is coming forward and its context. It is also unfair to the people who have been approaching all of the spokespersons in the House on the legislation for them to discover very late in the day that provision had not been made for an aspect to the legislation. It is unfair and undemocratic and it indicates that the House is not being considered by the Government as part of the process but is being taken for granted again, to which I object.

See this speech in context