Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

No. We are not agreeing to anything today. The Tánaiste can play politics and all the games he wants, but the bottom line is that we have until 2 p.m. to debate the Social Welfare Bill. There is no urgency attaching to dealing with the Bill. We can deal with it next week. Instead of dealing with the Equal Status (Amendment) Bill, we could use the time allowed to discuss the Social Welfare Bill. It is that simple. The Tánaiste did not respond to that request in his last contribution.

There is an opportunity for the Tánaiste to respond in a meaningful and constructive way. Let us move the Equal Status (Amendment) Bill back until next week and deal with the Social Welfare Bill in its place.

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