Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I have heard what the Minister of State has said. He has been here for approximately an hour and according to him everything has merit. He came here with 40 amendments and he was aware of all of our amendments. One has to ask what are we doing in Seanad Éireann. I have been here for a year and a half. Are we wasting our time? The Minister of State has had the advantage of the experts, specialists and consultants. He is on top of his brief. He is a very pleasant man. It is very hard to disagree with a very pleasant man who is an able and competent Minister of State, and I do not say this in a patronising way. He knows this business very well. He has come in here and kept talking about the amendments having merit. Can we hear something more positive? When we come back after tea, are we to sit here for another hour and hear the same old story about merit? Will the Minister of State give us any solace or support for anything we propose? It is quite depressing. I ask the Minister of State to see it from the other side of the House. I know the amendments are technical. I take this on board and I withdrew the first one, but this is worth putting on the record. The Minister of State had the advantage of coming here with amendments and stating there are technical reasons, good reasons or unintended consequences that mean they should be accepted. However, I am coming up with another proposal, which the Minister of State has not considered, and this is disappointing, particularly when the Minister of State has the resources, capacity and people at his back to do so. We are here because we have been asked to do a lot of this by other groups and I want to push this to a vote.