Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin Bay North, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I accept that the Minister of State's function is to try to pass a Bill he believes will do a lot of good for many companies. I accept that is the reason he is here and why he feels so strongly about the legislation. We have no problem with that. I do not think we in the Opposition have a difficulty with that. He said we need to get this done. That phrase is generally that we need to get it done and that we need to get it done right. We believe this is not compliant with EU Directive 2019/1023. While we need to protect businesses, we also need to protect workers in those businesses. Our primary function, as Deputy Catherine Murphy said, is as legislators. This sometimes surprises people, especially schoolchildren, when they ask what a Deputy's job is. They think it is about being in the media, delivering leaflets or engaging in local activity. The primary function of a Deputy is in this House, passing and, it is hoped, improving legislation.

It is just not good enough to produce important legislation and then to inform Deputies that the deadline for tabling amendments is the day before Second Stage. I appreciate the Minister of State said there will be more comprehensive answers about other amendments. His very first answer is that there is no time. He is right that it is important to get this done, but as Deputy O'Reilly has quite rightly said, it is important to get it done right because rushed legislation is bad legislation in far too many cases and does not protect the people whom we are genuinely trying to help. Nobody is trying to do political theatre or to accuse the Minister of State of not coming from a good place or not having bona fides about enhancing protections in the economic whirlwind that people are going through with the pandemic. At the same time, he has to accept our job is being curtailed by what he is saying as a Minister of State.

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