David Norris (Independent)

This is the first amendment. Will the Minister of State, Deputy Conor Lenihan, agree this process is completely chaotic? Will he state clearly, for the record of the House, whether the Government is in a position to accept any amendment whatever, due to the dissolution of the Dáil? We are engaged in a farce. There is at least one amendment on the Government side in the name of a leading member of the Minister of State's party and the leader of the Green Party in the House — the man who negotiated the formation of the coalition Government. Will the Minister of State candidly state if he is prepared to accept an amendment? It seems clear to me that he cannot. The degree of shambles in which we are involved is evident from the fact that we have just been issued with a list referring to amendments Nos. 2a and 12a which we do not yet have. Does the Minister of State believe this is any way to conduct business? We have been given groupings of amendments that we have not seen, which I find absurd.