Dáil debates

Thursday, 22 November 2007

10:30 am

Photo of Joan BurtonJoan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

Will the Tánaiste tell us what the problem is in respect of the production of Government legislation? For many in the House during all the years they have been here, there has never been such a dearth of Government legislation as we have seen in recent weeks. Of the 21 hours of Dáil business this week, only two have been devoted to dealing with Government legislation. Only two of the 17 Bills on the Government's list of legislation for this session have been published. The last Bill we saw — the Roads Bill — was in the end finished off through the use of the guillotine. What is the problem? Is it a political problem among the parties in government about the detailed nature of the various pieces of legislation or is there a problem in respect of staffing in the Office of the Attorney General? There must be some problem.

I endorse Deputy Kenny's comments. Will we now see a rush of Bills by the Government in the week or so before Christmas, the debate on all of which will be guillotined, without an opportunity for the House to discuss them properly? The Labour Party and the rest of the Opposition parties have introduced more Bills in this session than the Government parties.

Today, we are again facing a long debate and no legislation. Members on the Government benches are essentially going through the motions of coming in to chat about worthy motions. We could all adjourn to the coffee shop, sit in a few comfortable armchairs and have a chat, but we are here to deal with legislation, not just to have vague chats.

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