Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Did the Taoiseach have advice from the Attorney General on the proposed legislation on Cabinet confidentiality? In light of the many commitments made by Government about reform of politics, it would appear we are seeing the actual reform. At Cabinet level, it involves a small cohort of four people making the principal decisions and bringing those decisions to the full Cabinet at the last minute. The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine has complained about this and I suspect some of the decisions made about not proceeding with the additional 3% universal social charge on people earning over €100,000 might not have been agreed if the entire Cabinet had been involved. We might not have seen carers being abandoned in the way they have been.

Here in the House, the new politics is to guillotine critical legislation, such as the Social Welfare Bill, which will be guillotined in the Seanad this afternoon, and we see the appalling procedure being adopted for the property tax proposal. We know it will not come into play until July and there is time for detailed discussion. At least there should be time for a fair debate on the 88 amendments tabled to the Bill because, when enacted, this legislation will place an intolerable burden on the shoulders of many people in the State who are unable to carry their current burdens.

Does the Taoiseach accept we are now seeing real reforms but not the reforms people thought they would see, not the positive initiatives the public, when they placed their faith in the Government parties in substantial numbers in 2011, thought they would get and that they had a right to get?

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