Chris Andrews (Sinn Fein)

I thank colleagues for their contributions and the Minister for her comments. I know she cares deeply about equality and I sincerely hope the Government makes progress on this urgent issue. However, I am deeply disappointed that, once again, we see the Government tabling an amendment to attempt to kill these legislative proposals. More than two years ago, the then Government passed a near-identical amendment to stop the progression of an identical Bill. That amendment stated that 18 months were needed to examine the matters arising from the Bill over the course of an ongoing review. That was 26 months ago and the review referred to is now finished.

The Government declined to use that opportunity to take action and has hypocritically decided it needs another 12 months to examine this very straightforward proposal. It is not a new proposal. Senator O'Loughlin and her Fianna Fáil colleagues were happy to support the proposed reform back in 2017. I simply do not see how they cannot, in good faith, do the same today. We are all aware of how scarce Private Members' time is in the House. Delaying the Bill by 12 months is designed, in effect, to kill it. The amendment is a cynical way for the Government to kill the Bill without opposing it. I am confident that the vast majority of Senators support the legislation. I hope we will all vote on the Second Reading based on what is the right thing to do.

Not allowing the Bill to proceed to Committee Stage will do absolutely nothing to promote equality. It sends a message to people living in inner-city communities, flat complexes and disadvantaged communities that the Government does not care about their lives and the reality they face and does not see ensuring their well-being as a priority. The Government is kicking the can down the road once again. I said the exact same two years ago. It is deeply disappointing the Government has failed to use the time since to make progress on ending discrimination against our disadvantaged communities.

Allowing the Bill to advance to Committee Stage is not contrary to the Government's intention to reflect on and refine it. The very point of Committee Stage is to allow for such reflection and refinement. Legislators have an important role to play in ensuring the quality of Bills. The Government should not disregard this House and its ability to scrutinise legislation. If it is serious about ensuring Bills are fully considered, it must allow this legislation to proceed to Committee Stage. That will take considerable time to progress, by which point the SME test review will be complete. An arbitrary 12-month delay is meaningless. Delaying the Bill is a cynical move to avoid taking action, driven by the notion that a good idea cannot be had by anyone not sitting on the Government benches.

I regularly hear that the Seanad is about consensus and collegiality. That is absolute nonsense. The Government is only into consensus and collegiality if we on this side of the House agree with it. Proposals by the Opposition are blocked straight away. It is a nonsense to say the Seanad is some sort of nice debating society. It is used by the Government to block good legislation. The legislation we have proposed was supported by the Minister's colleague, Deputy Jim O'Callaghan, who put something almost identical before the Dáil and Seanad, yet the Minister is now voting against it and kicking the can down the road. That SME cost review could have been done 24 months ago. My Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael colleagues are saying we must make sure we get it right and that there are barriers there. We heard that it is not a delay but an opportunity. They have had the opportunity to get this right for 20 years but they have failed every time. They have neglected inner-city communities. Not only are individuals neglected and discriminated against individually, housing policy also neglects and discriminates against those living in flat complexes. We see that week in and week out. We see that families and individuals are left in appalling conditions in inner-city communities because of discrimination by Government. I know this is not directly related to this Bill but there is a sense that inner-city communities are neglected, forgotten about and discriminated against on an ongoing basis. The Government has had plenty of time to get it right. This is just an excuse. We have to pass this legislation. It is too important that, in 2025, we would not have this passed.