Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 5:

In page 6, line 18, to delete “both” and substitute “these".

My colleagues and I object in the strongest possible terms to the way in which Committee Stage of this legislation is being rammed through today. The pre-legislative scrutiny phase was truncated. Committee members did everything we could to ensure some level of scrutiny of the Bill. We had to submit amendments before the legislation was debated on Second Stage, which is highly irregular, and have been given just two hours today to deal with 160 amendments, 80 of which were drafted by homeowners from Donegal, Mayo, Clare, Sligo and other affected counties. Many of them are in the Gallery.

A total of 71 amendments have been ruled out of order. That is obviously because many aspects of the Bill have financial implications for the State. However, I will raise separately with the Ceann Comhairle afterwards the fact that there are three of the homeowners' amendments that I believe to be in line with Standing Orders. We will see if we can have those addressed in the Seanad. With regard to the powers we wanted to give the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage in the context of having an exceptional circumstances clause, similar to that catered for in the pyrite remediation legislation, no-penalty downsizing and the inclusion of foundations, the relevant amendments, in the context of their crafting, should have passed the test. That is a matter we will raise separately.

The Minister would not allow the Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage to meet for two or three consecutive sessions today.

We were available and could have done it. It was something the committee itself requested. We could have given proper consideration to this Bill. Given that this amendment and the others we will speak to affect thousands of homeowners who are living in the most appalling of circumstances, in many cases for years if not for more than a decade, and given that, according to the Minister's own estimates, this Bill could cost the taxpayer €2.7 billion over its lifetime, although many believe it will cost €3 billion or more, the idea that we would only have two hours to seek clear explanations from the Minister on many of the provisions of the Bill, to give him the opportunity to outline his intentions with respect to the many regulations set out in this Bill and to deal with and vote on amendments so that the public can see very clearly where people stand on those amendments is not just scandalous, but incredibly reckless.

The Minister and I have many disagreements. Sometimes they are over policy and sometimes they are over procedure. However, on this occasion and for the first time in the two years he has been Minister, he has crossed a very significant line. It is a line we did not see Eoghan Murphy or Deputy Coveney cross. Never before in my six or seven years in the Oireachtas have I seen legislation with such enormous financial consequences for the taxpayer, the State and the homeowners affected by what is clearly a defective Bill rammed through in such a reckless manner.

The Minister was here last week when, at their request, I read out the homeowners' statement. I have not tabled any amendments other than amendments requested by homeowners. They reflect the genuine concerns of a great many people. As we go through this Bill, I hope the Minister will provide some clarity and relief with regard to many of the key issues we will be raising.

These three amendments are no longer required because they are technical amendments relating to three substantive amendments that were ruled out of order. I will therefore not waste the House's time and will withdraw all three. However, I will state on the record that never before have I seen something like this happen in this House. The Minister's record will be judged not by us or by the affected homeowners, but by the taxpayers of this State when they see the failure of this legislation because of the Minister's failure to allow us adequate time to scrutinise it over the coming days. We will deal with the substantive matters as they arise.

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