Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate that but it does not have to be done by way of legislation. The Minister can change the criteria for eligibility without coming before the Oireachtas. It is a bad precedent because, increasingly, as a result of the Whip system and the fact that the Oireachtas is a mere tool of the Cabinet of the day, we are now passing legislation to remove the troublesome necessity of having to bring legislation before the Houses. We can do the deal on Merrion Street and we will not even to consult the parliamentary party meetings, which can be difficult from time to time; we can just plough ahead and make things up as we go along without any public scrutiny.

We will be tabling some amendments tomorrow, if they remembered to put them in for us yesterday, and we will engage on some of the sections. The Minister of State is always welcome here as a colleague and friend but we cannot go along with him on this one because for ¤12 million, it is a step too far and it is unnecessary. There were other options which the Labour Party is well aware of, having tried to get the 3% universal social charge over the line. That was not to be, as reflected in the general theme of a particular election leaflet in Meath East yesterday.