Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

I welcome that. In all my dealings with the Minister's Department, and I had many, I found it very defensive. I do not know why it was so defensive. It was very dogmatic about this issue. I would love to be so certain about everything in my life. I would love to be able to say I have something 100% right and that there is no room for debate. That dogmatism has not helped this debate. Therefore, d'iarrfainn ar an Rialtas agus ar Shinn Féin rud fíor-neamhghnách a dhéanamh sa Dáil seo. Is é sin, go mbeadh tionchar ag díospóireacht ar céard a dhéanfaimid agus go mbeadh ciall agus cúis le teacht isteach anseo agus labhairt.

I would hope that overnight, both sides, which have put very trenchant but diametrically opposed cases, would reflect on the Fianna Fáil amendment to the motion. I do not know if one could put an amendment to the Fianna Fáil amendment. I hope they would reflect and agree that the best way to progress this matter is to put it to a committee of the House so that the debate would mean something. The debate should be about putting forward ideas that can change people's minds, that can convince people. Otherwise, what happens in this House is a total charade. I have noted many times in the past years that Deputies read prepared scripts and no matter how good a case is put from the other side, nobody deflects from what he or she was told to say or what had been prepared. We all read our scripts. I have often said we might as well put them up on the Internet and stay at home.

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