Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)

When will the designated land (housing development) Bill be taken? This is the so-called "use it or lose it" legislation to deal with land banks that have been lying idle.

On two occasions, I introduced legislation amending section 4 of the Competition Act. In both instances, the legislation was voted down by the Government on the basis that the review of competition legislation was not complete. The Tánaiste has announced her intention to amend the Competition Act. Will she publish a timetable for the legislative programme that flows from the agreement with the social partners, which includes collective bargaining rights and reform of section 4 of the Competition Act? If she wishes, for example, to take unto herself and the Government the right to negotiate in good faith, she could have accepted either of the two Labour Party Bills. She is now suggesting she will be able to take this power, but she has not indicated how she will do so. Will there be a comprehensive reform of the Competition Act which addresses section 4? If the Tánaiste does not provide clarity on this, she is simply saying she will have a sideways negotiation with the Irish Medical Organisation, IMO, without being able to deal with the comprehensive issue, namely, that the Competition Act struck down collective rights agreed in trade union legislation.

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