Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Does the Tánaiste think it is symptomatic of the total disregard of the Government for the Oireachtas that it has appointed a Referendum Commission when neither this House nor the Seanad has yet agreed to the legislation? He is correct that the judge said more time should be provided. However, I am sure he did not want the Government to pre-empt the two Houses of the Oireachtas and the President. What he said was that more time should be provided between the passage of the legislation and the date set for the holding of the referendum. Is it a major plank of the Government's policy on Dáil reform to introduce the guillotine in dealing with crucial and sensitive legislation in order that it cannot be debated in the House?

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