Michael McDowell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I want to say the following on today's proposed Order of Business. Yesterday, the Seanad Independent Group and others on this side of the House protested against the unnecessary use of the guillotine during a parliamentary debate. Today, we want to register once again our protest regarding what is proposed in next week's draft schedule of business. The first item for discussion today is a motion which effectively imposes the guillotine right across next week and it is to be done without debate. The only opportunity that is being given to anybody in this House to speak on the necessity or the wisdom of doing so is during the Order of Business. I protest that. The widespread misuse of the guillotine to rush legislation through before the summer recess is a result of Government mismanagement of the time available in this House. There has been no attempt whatsoever to discuss or agree these proposals with the leaders and Whips of the one third of this House who are effectively being bulldozed by the other two thirds to agree to the passage of legislation in a hurried way, without adequate time for scrutiny or amendment, which is our constitutional function as Members of Seanad Éireann.

More time is required for certain legislation next week. For instance, the Education (Provision in Respect of Children with Special Educational Needs) Bill 2022 warrants more than one hour of debate on Second Stage, as does the mica remediation legislation. On the other hand, business which will not reach Report and Final Stages next week and could be scheduled for the autumn, such as Senator Ward's National Lottery (Amendment) Bill and a Green Party Bill about animal welfare, which is not urgent, is now being slotted in to take up time which could be allocated to the other legislation proposed to be dealt with next week. Likewise, resumption of Committee Stage of the Air Navigation and Transport Bill could wait until September, as could Second Stage of the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) (Amendment) Bill 2022.

I also object to one of the provisions proposed in this rubber-stamp motion. If an emergency arises next week, nobody will even be able to ask for it to be debated in this House because Standing Order 30 is to be suspended by this motion. We are to gag ourselves. No matter what happens, we are gagged. We cannot raise any issue at all under Standing Order 30. We have never used that provision, but this is part of the procedure to rush everything through that is being dealt with today. I have to oppose the Order of Business. I cannot do otherwise. I ask the Leader why Senator Boyhan and I, and the leaders of other groups not in the Government coalition, have not been consulted about any of this. Why has communication collapsed to the point that we are driven to protesting about the imposition of such a motion? I will leave it at that.

I do not want to go back over affairs from yesterday, but there was less than full frankness in the description of how the Higher Education Authority Bill was dealt with. We are opposed to this motion. It is a gagging motion and a motion for multiple guillotines. I cannot see why it is necessary to curtail debate on many important Bills and yet make provision for the Green Party to talk about animal welfare and for Senator Ward's Bill, which is to stop people gambling on the outcome of the national lottery in bookies' offices, to go to Second Stage to absorb another couple of hours. We are taking that time away from important legislation.