Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

It is not agreed to, not only because there is a guillotine involved, as the Taoiseach and Chief Whip well know. There are so many Members who want to speak on the Bill that it is unrealistic to propose closing the debate at 10 p.m. This is a time of great economic difficulty for many people. We need to focus on the possibilities and proposals in the Finance Bill that can help the Government to put forward strategies, ideas, incentives and opportunities for job creation and make it easier for employers to retain staff, change direction and have new lines. We need to discuss a range of other options in the Bill that are so important to bolstering a very fragile and fractured economy. For that reason, it is completely inappropriate to end Second Stage of the Finance Bill at 10 p.m. Many speakers want to contribute and the very least the Taoiseach could do is lift the guillotine and allow for another day, at least, of Second Stage debate.

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