Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

The Labour Party does not support the arrangements for this Bill, for two reasons. First, we are on the eve of a major debate on the economy and the Government has not yet informed the House as to what exactly it proposes. It will be somewhat absurd to have a major economic debate tomorrow without having heard what are the Government's proposals. Presumably by the time the Government announces its proposals we will have had the debate. It really is an absurd way of doing business.

I wish to hear from the Taoiseach whether he has any proposals to change the arrangements for the economic debate, either in such a way that we have the proposals and the Government's decisions before tomorrow, or that the time of the debate be changed in order for it to take place after the Government's proposals are announced.

The second reason for opposing this item is that the Bill is further evidence of the Government's incompetence.

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