Thomas Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome today's schedule to some extent. While it is slightly heavier than usual, it is worth reminding ourselves that the reason there is a deficit of legislation before the House is the related deficit of legislation before the Dáil.

But for the fact the Dáil has Question Time and more extensive statements, it would not be doing a whole lot either. It is about time the public realised there is hardly any legislation coming from the Government. The Government is not producing legislation. Controversial Bills, like the property tax Bill, will be rushed through towards the end of the term. This week, it became apparent that Fine Gael and Labour councillors will be able to increase the property tax substantially despite the promises made by the Minister. It was included in the Bill but it did not come out in the debate.