Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)

It is with pleasure that I stand to address the House on this legislation. It is very rare that a Deputy speaks on legislation, some of which he had a part in instigating. I think I can say that in the case of the proposal that by-elections be held within six months. The reality is that following my victory and that of my party in the High Court last year, it is unlikely that any Government would get away with not holding a by-election within a six-month period, or at least shortly afterwards. A number of the Fine Gael speakers rightly acknowledged that no Government should have the right to obstruct democracy and delay a by-election for its own selfish reasons. Some Deputies mentioned that Fianna Fáil is not the only party to have been guilty of such behaviour. Sometimes we think Fianna Fáil is the only party to act in this way. Donegal South-West is probably a case in point. In the 1980s, a Fine Gael-Labour Party Government-----

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