Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle) | Oireachtas source

I am a little concerned about the response I gave Deputy Cairns earlier when she asked about amendments being accepted. The norm is that when a particular amendment is moved and debated, the Minister will indicate at the end whether he will accept it. We live, thank God, in a parliamentary democracy. The purpose of our being here is to attempt to persuade, and that persuasion takes place on both the Government and Opposition sides. If we are to be incapable of persuasion, then the whole system is a bit of a sham.

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