Emmet Stagg (Kildare North, Labour)

It is not the function of the Executive to make law and tell the Dáil to rubber stamp it in a couple of minutes. The Government is allowing one minute and 20 seconds per amendment. This is simply not acceptable. The Government has been doing it and will do it again next week by ordering all Stages of a number of Bills to be taken in just a few minutes. Seven guillotines will be applied to legislation, not just debates.

Earlier this year, there was a full week in which legislation was not mentioned because the Government had no legislation ready. It was the Government's fault, not this Assembly's. It is the Executive's job to introduce legislation. We debated matters like motherhood and apple pie, more or less.

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