Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)

While the House can tolerate the occasional use of a guillotine, we have reached a stage where even matters of major importance are not presented with the necessary sort of information to underpin them and there is not the sort of debate required. The guillotine is undermining proper legislation. In the United States today a White Paper on the regulation of the financial sector is being published. The US Legislature will have a long time to consider the options.

Here it is likely that the very meagre proposals on financial regulation will come in with no White Paper, will be debated in a curtailed debate and will be rammed through with a guillotine. We must draw a sharp contrast between the legislative approach of other responsible governments and the one this Government is inclined to pursue far too frequently.

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