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

The programme for Government included a commitment to tackle the over-use of guillotines to ram through non-emergency legislation. What we have essentially today in the first item on the Order of Business is an attempt to do just that in the context of the Finance (Local Property Tax) (Amendment) Bill. A total of 67 amendments have been tabled to the Bill. However, only two and a half hours has been allocated for the entire Committee Stage. There is no emergency at issue. Approximately three minutes is provided for debate on each amendment. The vast majority of the Bill will not be debated because the Government is unnecessarily guillotining the debate, as it did with the original Bill before Christmas, when only three of the 88 amendments were discussed. The Government has had to bring forward an amending Bill because of the rushed nature of the Bill before Christmas. On this side of the House we are putting forward a range of amendments to provide exemptions or relief for certain categories. Notwithstanding our belief that this is the wrong tax at the wrong time, we wish to table an amendment that households in mortgage arrears would be exempt. I cannot understand how people who cannot pay their mortgage are being asked to pay the tax.

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