Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)

That was an extraordinary response from the Minister for Finance. The House collapsed last Thursday at 2.35 p.m. and was not reconvened until 3.30 p.m. because of a lack of business. The House collapsed yesterday evening at 5.15 p.m. and could not reconvene until 7 p.m. Today, the House has a single measure before it that probably will not occupy it beyond lunchtime. The pretence that the Opposition orders the business of the House is completely transparent. The reason there is no legislation, of course, is that the Government has been so preoccupied since the return of the Dáil with saving its own skin that there is no legislation to put to the House. If the Government does not have any legislation to propose, why does it not make provision for a discussion on one of the three Morris reports? Would it not be possible to provide for a discussion on the botched privatisation of Aer Lingus?

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