Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Yes. It happened during the bail-out process that certain Green Party members were woken up and there were all sorts of events in trying to get hold of some Cabinet members. Gardaí had to be sent around to knock on doors and people were ringing them and trying to find mobile phones. They were shouting down the chimney at them. We must do whatever it takes.

All we are asking is for the Government to move swiftly to allay concerns. We may speak of new politics and the previous Taoiseach from Fine Gael spoke about government from behind a pane of glass, meaning there would be transparency. Senator Marie-Louise O'Donnell, not generally an opponent of the Government, today spoke about "clear water". This all points to basic transparency and respect for the people in this House, who must do their job of scrutinising legislation properly.

We are not suggesting for a moment that if this legislation passes, it will be unconstitutional. If Senator McDowell contradicts me, I will have to take it as he is the more senior man. However, that is not the point. The point is if this legislation passes, it will be bad public policy and set a bad precedent in terms of our need to protect an independent Judiciary. Senator Craughwell is right and we should withdraw from debate at this point until the Minister can get a decision from the Government to publish this report, whether it is relevant or not. The perception now matters as to whether there is something damning in the report, whatever about the content. On the face of it, the legislation must be seen to be unproblematic. It is not the current position and there is a confidence problem with the legislation.

Nobody expects the Minister to speak for the Government right now. He could speak to his own intentions, which are that he will seek clarification on whether we can get an early decision from the Government about the publication of this report. I am not asking for something unrealistic and neither are my colleagues. Will the Minister start from the point that there must be a shift of paradigm? It is about accepting there is a credibility problem and we need clarity. It is not as though the report has not issued, as it is somewhere in the corridors of power. The second Chamber, the Upper House, is entitled to know what is in the report, even if the Minister has not yet read it. It is hard to expect us to believe that nobody in the corridors of power knows the content of the report. Right now there is an information gap and it is in the Minister's interest, taking account of the kind of politics he wishes to promote, and in our interests as a Legislature seeking to scrutinise legislation properly, that we would have all the information at our disposal. It is about making our best judgment on this legislation with the fullest possible access to the facts.