Mairéad Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am totally opposed to the Bill. I am deeply frustrated with how our amendments have been dealt with. I will first speak to the matter of the Bill. Recently, the Taoiseach described the Opposition's rejection of the Government's stroke politics as a subversion of the Constitution. Talk about a subversion of the English language. The Government was forced to row back on its outrageous plan to have Government supporters sit on Opposition benches. It was not enough for the Government to already have one of the most centralised political systems in Europe in which power overwhelmingly rests with the Cabinet, it also wanted to try to install it supporters on the Opposition benches. Today, we are dealing with further fallout from this. The Government is proposing to create more officeholders in the form of Ministers of State - the so-called junior Ministers. All this is about is more deals, more Mercs and more perks.

These are not positions born out of any serious attempt to deal with the issues the Chamber is supposed to address. No, these extra positions and pay are simply a function of coalition talks and jobs for the boys. Again, the Taoiseach thinks opposing such things is a subversion of the Constitution. Let us look at the Constitution. The Government has seen to it that all Stages of the Bill will be taken in the Dáil today. It is trying to railroad it through, and that is a disgrace. We need to talk about the amendments that we, as a collective Opposition, have tabled. All of the amendments bar one have ruled out of order. Why is that?

Apparently, my amendment went against the spirit of the Bill. Saying that Opposition amendments cannot conflict with Government Bills is like saying the Opposition cannot conflict with the Government. That is an outrage. Standing Orders state that amendments must stick to the subject matter of the relevant legislation, which ours do. We constantly hear from Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael about the need for respect for our institutions. Those parties are riding roughshod over the rules of the House by putting everything through in the one day. We know this is in complete defiance of public opinion. Cabinet confidentiality means that the practice of super juniors was something that had been questioned before. There is an important article in relation to this matter, Article 26.1.1°, which states that in the case of any Bill, other than a Money Bill or a Bill proposing to amend the Constitution:

The President may, after consultation with the Council of State, refer any Bill to which this Article applies to the Supreme Court for a decision on the question as to whether such Bill or any specified provision or provisions of such Bill is or are repugnant to this Constitution or to any provision thereof.

There are cases before the High Court in respect of this Bill. In the interim, the Government is trying to get it through the Dáil before we have any guidance, let alone a decision, in respect of it. I hope people looking in at what is happening can see it for what it is. It is clear that if this Bill is accepted and the number of Ministers of State is increased to 23 and the number of super junior Ministers is increased to four, what is to stop that happening again in five years' time? What will we do then? Could we find ourselves in 2030 looking at a situation where there is a similar Bill to increase the number of junior ministers from 23 to 30 and the number of super juniors are increased to ten? The fact is that if this goes through there will be nothing to stop a repeat performance in five years' time and again five years after that. The role of Minister of State and the questionable concept of super junior Ministers will not be seen as meaningful institutions of public office, rather, they will be reduced to political bargaining chips and the outcome of coalition talks.

There is an old saying that when something cannot go on forever, it stops. We must stop what is happening. We will be opposing this legislation even if our amendments have been ruled out of order for questionable reasons. The fact that all Stages of this Bill are being taken in just a few hours on the same day and that Opposition amendments are not being countenanced brings into question our democratic values.

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