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

This is very important legislation that essentially gives carte blanche to the banks to repossess family homes without any conditionality attached. When this is combined with a dilution of the protections of the code of conduct to unravel the protections that existed for people in mortgage arrears, we have a new landscape. People in mortgage arrears are now much more vulnerable as a result of this legislation and are losing rights and protections. A substantial number of amendments remain to be discussed. On Committee Stage, Members did not have sufficient time to deal with all those amendments. This is the second Bill on the Order Paper to be rammed through the House by guillotine notwithstanding the Government's commitment in the programme for Government that it would not do this.

Further, it is in the context of a proposal to come before the people in the autumn to abolish the Seanad. What we are witnessing, bit by bit, is an incremental reduction of the democratic process, a dilution of the democratic process and a reduction of scrutiny of all measures. One can imagine a unicameral system with one House where the Government has a majority and it can ram Bills of all consequence through without debate. It says it in the document. Only one question can be voted on now. There is no facility to vote on particular amendments because of the guillotine.

We already know that the Government has clocked up a record in terms of the number of guillotines it has introduced since this Dáil commenced on very serious Bills such as those relating to the property tax, cuts to child benefit and the respite care grant. All of those Bills were rammed through in 24 hours with no room for debate.

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