Emmet Stagg (Kildare North, Labour)

I always understood that our primary purpose in this assembly, as legislators, is to make law but we now find ourselves in a situation where there is no legislation ready to debate in the House yet guillotines are imposed on the small items of legislation that come before the House, even if they are not necessary, as was demonstrated yesterday. Instead of the Opposition calling for a debate on various issues of concern to the public, we now have the Government proposing motherhood and apple pie type proposals. It will have a debate on young people's issues or climate change — pure fillers in a parliamentary sense — without a motion being tabled.

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