Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party) | Oireachtas source

It is not agreed that this issue should be taken without debate. This is a proposal that one Fine Gael member leaves the commission and is replaced by a second, at a time when the majority of the Opposition, the Technical Group and Sinn Féin, have no representation on this commission. This is a fundamental problem, particularly now with the situation faced by the Technical Group where its numbers are threatened to swell and overflow as the numbers for Fine Gael and Labour are depleted as a result of their unpopular policies and the hatred they are evoking among ordinary people as well as water charges, etc. We are looking for a debate on the issue so that the majority of the Opposition Deputies can put their arguments on why there should be a more democratic representation on the commission reflecting the make-up of Dáil Éireann.

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