David Cullinane (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Tánaiste. We had a very interesting debate with the Minister of State prior to the vote. This discussion is going to be a continuation of that. I appreciate that the Tánaiste may not be up to speed on what was said earlier. In that context, a number of recommendations relating to section 3 were ruled out of order, which is fine. However, we engaged in a discussion on a number of issues. One of those relates to why recommendations or amendments are continually being ruled out of order. Another matter that arises is why we are dealing with recommendations rather than amendments in the context of the Bill before us. The question of Opposition Deputies and Senators being in a position to table recommendations or amendments to Money Bills should be considered in the context of political reform. Before he left, the Minister of State provided a commitment to the effect that he would have the matter examined.

Section 3 presented the Government with the opportunity to reverse many of the cuts it made previously. The Minister of State made an interesting point about an advisory group or commission that has been put in place to examine alternative budgets or pre-budget submissions. When we discuss the budget and the Finance and Social Welfare and Pensions Bills each year, I make the point that there should be much greater pre-budget scrutiny in the Dáil and Seanad. We end up debating the relevant issues after the fact, in other words, after the budget has been presented rather than beforehand. If we could consider all of the relevant issues prior to the budget's introduction, we could examine the impact of measures that were put in place in the past and, potentially, what might be contained in-----