Lynn Ruane (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I want to raise some concerns about the ordering of business this week and last week. I refer to the Circular Economy, Waste Management (Amendment) and Minerals Development (Amendment) Bill 2022. We have the Higher Education Authority Bill 2022 coming up this week as well as the Electoral Reform Bill 2022. Those two Bills are once in a lifetime pieces of legislation in their importance, their reach and potential for change in a number of sectors. Our group is concerned about the Electoral Reform Bill this week. It provides for how we do electoral politics but we undermine that by skipping processes in how we do business and scrutinise legislation as Seanad Éireann. We know it is urgent and fundamental legislation. I and others take our role extremely seriously in how much effort and time we put into scrutinising every line of legislation, as we have with the Electoral Reform Bill.Obviously, the Bill has been in flow for two years but has now been rushed through in the past two weeks. That does not give the House time to do what it is mandated to do and what Senators are elected to do. I note a change to the Order of Business on Thursday in respect of the Electoral Reform Bill. It was initially scheduled to take Report Stage but then it changed to Committee Stage (resumed) and Report and Final Stages. Is the intention to attempt to guillotine that debate? We strongly oppose any such proposal and will seek to put any guillotine on the Bill to a vote.

We have raised previously, in the context of other legislation, our concerns in respect of the taking of all Stages at once, especially when it is legislation in which there is significant interest and input and with a large number of amendments. We are seeking to clarify whether the Order of Business on Thursday will be amended to remove Report Stage from the timing so that Senators have a chance to table amendments on Report Stage. To take the Stages together is just telling us that what will happen in here on Thursday is theatre. We will come in but have no room to table more amendments and the Minister will not accept any amendments anyway. That does not do the House any service and it definitely does not do the legislation any service.