Thomas Byrne (Fianna Fail)

The 100 days concept is much used by the Taoiseach and we are marking it today as a result of the remarkable actions of President Franklin D. Roosevelt at the height of the Great Depression. After he assumed power, on the second day he closed the banks for four days and within 100 days he had passed 15 Bills through Congress, which is still a record. Comparing the last 100 days or even the three pages of promises the Taoiseach made to be delivered on in the first 100 days of his Government with the period of 100 days mentioned, they do not measure up well. The Finance (No. 2) Bill is important, as a focus on job creation is necessary, but the Bill will only be passed today if the Government does not continue to insist that approved retirement funds be excluded from the scope of the pension levy. The likes of the bankers who have brought the country to its knees are still excluded from harsh taxation measures that will affect ordinary people. I, therefore, propose an amendment that No. 8, Finance (No. 2) Bill, be deleted from the Order of Business today owing to the failure of the Minister for Finance to bring approved retirement funds within the scope of the pensions levy in the Bill. This is such a crucial issue that we must obtain the views of the House on the matter, but it is not possible for us to secure this by amendment.

The Leader is proposing to bring the debate on the Bill to a conclusion today which I believe is outside Standing Orders. That is totally unfair. In the last Dáil both Fine Gael and the Labour Party criticised this practice time and again. As I understand this does not happen too often in the Seanad, we do not have much of a precedent for the guillotining of debates on important legislation. In general, I am not in favour of the use of the guillotine, as we do not always have enough time. I repeat the criticism I made yesterday that if we are to do the work of the people by scrutinising the laws we are passing, we cannot just let them go through on the hoof, while omitting issues such as approved retirement funds while targeting middle income earners. We should talk about the Bills in front of us, not just about other important issues that come into our heads that can be discussed on the Order of Business, the Adjournment or during other debates.

I thank the Leader for arranging the debate on the nursing home care support scheme in the House today.