David Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Minister is helpful with his explanations, but I am still concerned for a number of reasons. He stated that these powers already existed, presumably under the other emergency legislation that started in 2009. I have a feeling that I voted against them, although I am not 100% sure. I know that I voted against benchmarking and the bank guarantee.

In any case, the powers remained dormant until this legislation. This Bill is the first to give them real teeth. They are like the dormant rights in the Constitution or like dark matter - they are anti-rights that are now being drawn out of previous legislation. The Minister proposed a dangerous principle when he stated that, although this was regrettable, we needed to do it. That is Machiavelli - the ends justify the means.

No one doubts that this is a serious situation, but it is not an emergency. If one suffers from tuberculosis, it is a serious situation, particularly given the fact that certain strains of TB have become resistant to normal antibiotic treatments. However, it is not an emergency, and neither is this. We are not living through an emergency. Rather, we are living through a chronic situation that was caused by a total failure-----