Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

No. This important legislation deals with the modernisation of water services, a matter not unconnected with the problems people in Galway are experiencing. It took the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government almost two years to prepare the legislation. It was published in 2003 but he took until the beginning of 2005 to get it through Second Stage. He then sat on it for 18 months before bringing it to the select committee, which completed its work on it on 22 November 2006. The Minister has sat on it for the past five months before ordering Report Stage. He expects us to deal with it in five hours, late at night and on one of the last Dáil sitting days. It is not acceptable to the House or as a means of dealing with important legislation.

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