Brian Hayes (Fine Gael)

As we informed the Leader in private discussions, the Fine Gael group is in favour of taking all Stages of the Redundancy Payments Bill today and has provided the latitude the Government requires to get the Bill through the House. The amendment tabled by my colleague, Senator Coghlan, the only substantive amendment proposed by either side of the House, would extend the rights provided for in the Bill to at least four other companies. Given the degree of flexibility we have shown, I ask the Government to consider accepting the Fine Gael amendment as it would greatly improve the Bill. Will the Leader make this point to the relevant Minister when he or she speaks to the Bill later?

I draw the attention of Senators to the Local Government Bill, on which the House had a substantial debate around a month ago. I understand the Bill will clear all Stages in the Dáil later today and may come back to this House at a later stage due to a small technical amendment. The Leader is well aware of the balances established in the Constitution on the rights of the Dáil, Seanad and President. The President has, within our constitutional framework, a right to refer Bills which are suspect, either in part or in whole, to the Supreme Court for a final determination. Given the degree of doubt concerning the Government's plans to abolish the dual mandate in the Bill, I ask the President, through this assembly, to consider—