Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)

On a point of order, I wish to draw the attention of the House to a serious flaw in the motion before us. On reading the motion yesterday, I noticed what seemed to be a disparity between the terms of the motion and what is required under the primary legislation. I have now received three separate sets of legal advice confirming that the motion is seriously flawed and does not comply with what is required under the primary legislation, which states: "The Minister for Finance may not dispose of any shares in the Company without the general principles of the disposal being laid before and approved by Dáil Éireann." The motion calls for our approval of the disposal of the shares and, therefore, any sale that might proceed on the basis of this flawed motion would be unlawful. I ask the Minister to withdraw his motion.

I had submitted an amendment on behalf of Fine Gael yesterday. In view of this flaw in the motion, I now wish to submit another amendment, which corrects that flaw. I hope the Acting Chairman will be willing to accept this amendment. While I realise it is not normal procedure to accept amendments on the hoof like this, it is an unusual situation. This is the last slot on the last day of the Dáil session.

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