Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)

It is not agreed. The Labour Party is opposed to the proposal to sit late tonight. The purpose of the late sitting is to extend the scope of the Social Welfare Bill to enable the Government to ram through very significant changes to pension law. The Labour Party is not prepared to go along with this proposal. Yesterday, we were circulated with 11 pages of amendments in relation to pension legislation. This legislation was cobbled together in a rush at the weekend and it has very far-reaching implications for the 250,000 people in defined benefit pension schemes. We are not prepared to deal with it in this rushed manner.

Essentially, the Government is expecting us to consider this legislation, debate it and possibly amend it in the space of four hours. That is simply not possible because it is very important legislation. Some of the most complex legislation that comes before the House is pension related. Certainly, these amendments are extremely complex and Members on this side have a right to reasonable time to consider significant amendments. We also need an opportunity to consult on those proposals. It is a very specialised area and we need to consult and obtain expert advice if we are to do our job properly.

As late as 20 minutes ago, we got more pages from the Department. These included amendments to the Minister's amendments of yesterday, which would indicate that this is all happening on the hoof. We are not prepared to go along with this rushed job-----

See this speech in context