Paul Bradford (Renua Ireland) | Oireachtas source

I join colleagues who wished First Minister Robinson well. In recent times, he has played a very considerable role in the politics of the island and we thank him for that. We wish whoever will be his successor the very best of luck.

It is obvious that the arrangement arrived at in recent days is helpful and progressive. Senator Cahill mentioned the legacy issues. Until they are dealt with, the North and the Republic will continue to be haunted by the past. On this side of the Border, we are not very good at getting rid of the past. Dealing with legacy issues is very important and there will be no long-term settlement across the island until this is done.

I support - if necessary, I will second - the proposal of Senator Barrett that the Legal Services Regulation Bill 2011 not proceed to Committee Stage and instead be recommitted to Second Stage. We are dealing with an entirely new Bill. Sometimes a throwaway phrase sums it all up. When the Minister for Justice and Equality was questioned about the opposition to the amendments and accused of completely watering down Deputy Shatter's Bill, she said her proposals were pragmatic. We all know what that means when it comes from a politician; it means he or she is just trying to find a short-term solution to get over the difficulties. It might be a pragmatic solution but it is not what people wanted, nor is it what was demanded of us by the troika. It is only a fortnight ago that the troika was in town. Once again, it reminded the Government that we have major issues with legal structures that need to be addressed. Surely the purpose of the legislation should be to ensure we have the very best people practising law and that citizens can access the legal system in a fair and reasonable fashion. Where disputes and difficulties emerge, there should be proper, independent structures in place to deal with them. The amendments presented to us go completely against that set of necessary parameters. If the Minister wants to defend her ideas, that is fair enough. However, she should be publishing and introducing a new Bill. It is completely wrong that we are dealing with well over 100 amendments that absolutely overturn the purpose of the Bill, as published. We will proceed later today to take what is called Committee Stage but I am of the view that we must return to the drawing board. That may be disappointing but we have been waiting four years for this legislation. As Senator O'Donovan said, the public has been waiting for many decades for the legal system to be restructured. I acknowledge it is not the Leader's call. He is just told to squash the Bill through using the numbers available to him. However, it is bad practice and bad law. An improperly amended Bill is far from what was intended or necessary for the people of this island.