Emmet Stagg (Kildare North, Labour)

This is one of a series of guillotine motions on legislation with which we deal day in, day out during this session. In the last session of the Dáil we did not have enough legislation to keep the House going. It is a measure of the disorganised fashion in which the Government brings legislation before the House. The reason we have Standing Orders for the passing of legislation is to ensure legislation is properly scrutinised when it comes before the House. Standing Orders will be set aside on four occasions today. The daily and regular setting aside of Standing Orders designed and put in place to ensure the House properly and fully scrutinises legislation and call the Executive to account is fraught with the danger that bad legislation will be rushed through the House without proper scrutiny. The rush of guillotine motions before us every morning shows a degree of contempt for this assembly. On that basis, the Labour Party opposes the use of the guillotine on this measure.

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