Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. I will not prolong the discussion any longer than is necessary. I agree with a lot of what Senators Bacik and Wall have said on the Government amendment. As the Minister of State will know, the overarching themes and issues involved were debated on Committee Stage. We had our own amendment which, unfortunately, did not make the cut in the end but the Labour Party amendment represented a reasonable position to adopt and it is worthy of consideration. I do not know why the Government is so opposed to revisiting some of these issues. This is but one proposal in which we, as Opposition groups, are asking the Government for a punctuation point at which we can stop and take a breather in what I appreciate is an ever-changing and dynamic situation. We are not saying that such a review will ultimately result in a change. That will depend on political, societal and economic dynamics. The amendment simply sought a point at which to stop, reflect and review the measure. The cause for such a review was very eloquently outlined by Senator Buttimer. Much like Senator Bacik, our group will oppose the Government amendment because it is not good practice not to review issues that are of such importance for communities across this State.