Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am not sure what ruling the Acting Chairman will make but I see where Deputy Doherty is coming from in order to facilitate the matter. This is serious legislation that must be debated in public and the Minister should be here. Last night we had a motion to extend maternity leave and the Minister for Justice and Equality in her reply, among other things, told us it was not possible because the legislation would be complicated and would involve retrospection and so on.

This legislation is one of the most complicated pieces I have ever tried to read. The Bill itself is short and is only made up of 12 sections but the Schedules attached to it are extremely complicated. In total, there are 140 pages. This must be debated in public. I do not know how we get out of the fact the Minister responsible is not here but questions must be asked on this matter. I am no expert and I have struggled to understand it. When I put it in the context of last night's debate, it beggars belief that something as simple as extending maternity leave was refused mainly because the legislation would be too complicated.

This legislation is to facilitate two particular schemes as well as other technical matters to allow us to access funding. In order to access that funding, one of which is €100 billion and the other €200 billion, we must make certain guarantees and certain written agreements. We need details on all of this. The question asked by Deputy Doherty is a simple one. When does the 60% become activated? The reply has been that the 60% has already passed.

There are other practical questions with regard to this, for example, have we already spent money and are we now applying under that fund? They are simple practical questions here, not to mention the complicated ones. I am not in agreement with us going into private session.

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