Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

The Government has been preparing this Bill for approximately three years. I have a copy of the Dáil schedule for the spring session 2004, which promised publication of the Bill by Easter 2004. The Bill was not published until three weeks ago and the Government now proposes to allow approximately two hours to put it through all Stages in the House late tonight. It is complex legislation that provides for two separate sets of rules for two different building societies and requires considerably more scrutiny by the House than two hours would allow this evening. If it is put through in two hours this evening, it could come back to haunt the promoters.

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