Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I have heard the Taoiseach speak an awful lot about the legislative programme and the requirement to ensure that it is robust. However, as we spoke about earlier, there has been no discussion within these four walls on promised legislation because we do not have a legislative programme. It is a contradictory position. We cannot debate promised legislation in the Dáil because the Government has not published the programme.

I also heard the Taoiseach say frequently that he did not want the Dáil to come back only to debate specific matters and that we needed to debate legislation. The Taoiseach kept repeating that when other Deputies were calling for the Dáil to come back. We are back but we do not have a legislative programme. When will the programme be published? There must be a sense of urgency on this. A considerable volume of important Bills has been put forward by many Members. I would ask that the Government and the Taoiseach take the content of some of those Bills on board. On what is the Chief Whip working? What are the Government's priority Bills? There has been a significant volume of emergency legislation but it is not good practice to live on pushing through emergency legislation. Foresight is needed. Rushed legislation is not always the best legislation. What are the Government's priorities?

I very much want the Taoiseach to tell me his views on a number of matters. The programme for Government contains a commitment to a raft of legislation relating to the disability sector in which I am interested. What is the Government prioritising in this regard? I drafted and sent to the Minister the Civil Liability (Amendment) Bill 2018, which emerged from the Ruth Morrissey judgment. Where will it fit in the Government's schedule? The Minister has already told Vicky Phelan and the 221+ support group that he will look to prioritise that legislation. Where will it fit into the schedule?

There is an absolute need to legislate for sick pay in the middle of a pandemic and I have outlined the importance of that to the Taoiseach on numerous occasions. Where will it fit into the legislative schedule?

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