Kathleen O'Meara (Labour)

I support the amendment before the House. I do not support the Order of Business which is a farce, nothing more, nothing less. A Bill of such magnitude which deals with the accountability of Government decisions is being rammed through the House with speed and in the absence of the Minister involved. Not only is he absent – he also has shown his contemptuous attitude by publicly declaring that he is leaving the country while the Bill is being dealt with in this House. The House and the legislation are being treated with utter contempt.

I am disappointed, a Chathaoirligh, that you were unable to respond to the request from this side of the House to convene a meeting of the Committee on Procedure and Privileges to discuss the matter. It is reprehensible to commence Committee Stage of the Bill while we are awaiting the results of the discussions at the Joint Committee on Finance and the Public Service on the legislation. It is unprecedented to proceed with Committee Stage of legislation before an Oireachtas committee has discussed the matters at the heart of it. The legislation deals with extremely serious issues, of which the most fundamental is the accountability of Government decisions. The decision of the Government to ride roughshod over a fundamental principle of our democracy, because it can, is an abuse of power and cannot be supported.