Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

There are two matters I want to ask about. The first is the NAMA amendment Bill, which is to be prioritised by the Government. This important Bill would allow for debts of developer loans under €20 million to be transferred to NAMA. Given that billions of euro of taxpayers' money is involved in this Bill, is it the intention of the Government to publish any kind of White Paper or Green Paper, or even an early copy of this Bill, in order for the Opposition to examine it from a legal perspective?

In the context of this new NAMA Bill, which is for loans under €20 million, before Christmas I asked several questions of the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills about subcontractors. This was in the context of the collapse of Pierse Construction, which was to build schools under public private partnerships for her Department. I am sure the Minister and every Deputy in the House is aware of different firms, individuals and families who were subcontractors and have been left in a terrible state of financial ruin. Is it proposed in the NAMA amendment Bill to deal with that issue? It is really important that we get advance information on the Bill's content so that we can assess and consider it. Its implications will run into billions of euro for taxpayers.

The second issue concerns the Climate Change Response Bill, which I understand is under consideration in the Seanad. This Bill is very important for agriculture, industry and small and medium businesses, as well as individual consumers. Normally, a Bill like this, which is so important for agriculture and industry, would involve-----

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