Sean Barrett (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I do not agree with the decision to group 15 amendments together. Amendment No. 33 amounts to three pages of legislation, while amendment No. 34 amounts to four pages. Each of the amendments in the group raises serious issues and teasing them out individually would help in the preparation of the Bill. Too much is being swept into one set of amendments in which different issues arise. If, during the course of the debate, it transpires that some of the amendments have been discussed, I will withdraw or decline to move them. However, these issues are of great importance; Irish democracy is at stake. When one considers what took place four years ago last weekend, when a large number of accountable agencies to Parliament did serious damage to this country, we must take this chance to extend control to more agencies, as the Minister proposes. While I am delighted he is working with the Ombudsman, much went wrong as a result of the role of unaccountable people.

This is probably the most important Bill to come before the House this session because it proposes to extend democracy in circumstances in which many institutions collapsed and less than two years later the country had to be rescued by the International Monetary Fund. The governance of the country requires that we discuss these amendments separately. If there is unnecessary duplication, we will quickly dispose of the relevant amendments. However, the amendments are so wide-ranging and include such a large amount of legislation that we should discuss them individually as we seek to assist the Minister. That is the spirit in which I am participating in this debate.