Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)

It is entirely futile to raise a point on this matter, but for the life of me I cannot understand why we cannot resume before 24 April. We have been sitting until midnight quite frequently for the last three or four weeks. Some 24 Bills have been promised for this session, yet only 12 have been published. Why can we not resume on 17 April in the normal way? I know the Government has no intention of doing so and I do not wish to divide the House on the matter. However, I see no reason for not resuming earlier, other than to free up the Taoiseach to wander the highways and by-ways for 20 days, canvassing unimpededly.

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