David Norris (Independent)

I strongly support what Senator Terry has said. I have the document to which she referred. An accompanying note says the response from the bodies involved is work in progress given that they have only had two days to work on it. The bodies have struggled to produce the material and I received the document only five minutes ago. There is indecent haste and a vitiation of the democratic process in this.

I have already drawn up two or three amendments while waiting for the Order of Business to conclude. If we took Second Stage today and deferred Committee Stage until next Tuesday, we would have time to table decent and sensible amendments. Furthermore, we would not obstruct or delay Government business in any way and there is the rub. The Bill could be delivered to the Dáil by Wednesday; that is the earliest the Dáil is going to deal with the Bill. There is no obstruction and therefore no political reason why this Bill should be pushed through in this way.

This confirms the suspicions expressed by the Leader yesterday that this drive comes from the bureaucrats rather than the political masters. For this reason, what we are witnessing is a serious erosion of democracy. This House is charged with the ordering of its business. There is no proper authority outside of the House that can so order that business. If officials of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform are doing it, then this is an attack on democracy. It is important that Fianna Fáil Senators vote with the amendments to the Order of Business proposed by Opposition Members to ensure the status and proper democratic functions of the Seanad are maintained.