Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

With respect, a Cheann Comhairle, I am entitled to ask questions about the arrangements for sittings and the conduct of business. The Government has created a set of circumstances in which the date of the budget has been put back to 9 December, thereby leaving a very short period of time for a debate on the budget. It appears there may be a political strategy to get the budget, and possibly the social welfare Bill, done and dusted by Christmas in the hope that people may forget about them, or get over them, during the Christmas period. In any event, four days is not a sufficient period of time for a debate in the House on the budget. It is certainly not a sufficient period of time for a debate on the social welfare Bill, if such a Bill is to be published before Christmas. With just a week to go until budget day, I ask the Taoiseach to outline the consideration the Government has given to the sitting arrangements between now and Christmas. The Government has decided that the Minister for Finance will give his Budget Statement on 9 December, rather than 2 December which would have been the expected date.

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