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

No. In recent days, we have raised the issue of the guillotining of Bills before Christmas as well as the Finance (Local Property Tax) (Amendment) Bill 2013 in the past two days. One of the key commitments in the programme for Government was that the Government would remove guillotines from non-emergency legislation. The programme referenced the significant use of the guillotine for non-emergency legislation.

No. 29 is on the establishment of Irish Water and giving it the capacity to install water meters and impose water charges in the next two years. There are various estimates as to when all of that will be done. Some have claimed that it will be post 2014. The Bill establishes an entity that makes water vulnerable to privatisation and other risks. The Tánaiste may claim that this is not the case, but I do not see the emergency dimension to this Bill. The Government must heed its own commitment in the programme for Government, given the farcical situation of the Finance (Local Property Tax) (Amendment) Bill 2013 and, before Christmas, the Social Welfare Bill and the property tax Bill. People were given no time to debate anything. In principle, we are against the Bill. No. 3 is a short Bill with which we have no difficulty.

I urge the Government to take the Dáil and its own commitment on guillotines seriously.

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