Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

I raised the issue on Thursday that the Government is planning to use the guillotine a number of times on legislation this week. It is intended to guillotine five Bills during the course of this week. That is bad habit on the part of the Government. It is done every year when we come towards the end of the session. It is a device which the Government is using serially in order to avoid proper debate in the House on legislation and then rushing it through at the last minute using the guillotine. The irony in the case of this Bill is that it is our view that the guillotine is not necessary at all. I understand from our spokesperson, Deputy McManus, that it would be possible to have the Bill dealt with in the normal way. In all probability it might not run until 7 p.m. when it is proposed to introduce a guillotine but the Government has become so addicted to its use that it would appear that on this occasion it is proposing to use it where in fact a guillotine is not necessary.

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