I notice as I look through the amendments which are for debate on Committee Stage that the ones which are asterisked as being proposed by the Government, and which will come into being when the guillotine falls on this Bill, seem to number approximately 60. Without making any judgment about all of them, important amendments are being made to legislation which concerns everybody in this country. Some of them relate to very important issues, such as media manipulation and the use of social media. However, the Leader …

I strongly support these amendments. In order to register as a political party it is necessary to come up with a constitution or memorandum. It has to be given to the registrar under this regime. It seems the public is entitled to know how a party is constituted. There are questions such as whether a certain class of membership has a veto over decisions. If a party is going to have a public profile, the public is entitled to see exactly who in it rules the roost and who elects its leader. People are entitled to kno…

I have knowledge of litigation where nobody could get the rules of a particular political party. It might be closer to the Cathaoirleach’s home than to mine. Nobody could get the rules for the purposes of deciding the case. They could not go to the head office and obtain a copy of the rules. I know this situation has obtained for some time. It is bad enough for a member of the party not to be able to know the rules. If I am voting for a group of people who are organised in a particular way, surely I am entitled to …

I assure the Minister of State that not every party does it.

I am disappointed by that response. If a political party is organised on the basis that a small group of people effectively determine everything, even who can or cannot be a candidate, who can be selected or deselected, who can join the party or be booted out of the party, or whatever, the public is entitled to know that. The scheme of the legislation at present is that the public is not entitled to know that. The only person who is entitled to know what goes on within a party's rules is the registrar, who has to s…

I welcome the Minister to the House. I qualify that welcome, however, with the following. When we were on Second Stage of this Bill, I and Senator Craughwell drew to the Minister’s attention that this was an important Bill, far-reaching in its consequences, and that it could not be rushed through. To be particular about what was said, I said: This Bill needs very serious further consideration. It should not be guillotined and it should not be rushed through. Senator Craughwell spoke about the fact that even the Min…

Therefore, the Minister can imagine my shock when, without any warning whatsoever, the Deputy Leader this morning proposed an Order of Business guillotining this Bill this afternoon. I do not know whether the Minister is aware of it, but the Deputy Leader gave a full explanation as to why she was guillotining it. Sadly, it turned out that it was on the express instructions of the Minister that the matter had to go through-----

That is what she told us. The Deputy Leader said it was on the Minister's express instructions-----

I am sorry. I did not say that she spoke to the Minister.

Let us not use weasel words here.

The Deputy Leader told us-----

She told us that the Minister had made it clear that the Bill had to be guillotined-----

What?

Sorry, it is not what-----

-----the Minister said. It was on the Minister's instruction.

I strongly doubt that we are being told the full truth. I refer the Minister to what was said-----

I refer the Minister to what went on in Westminster when on BBC Radio 4 an individual said that it was possible to construct a statement and for it to be true, but with your fingers crossed.

The Deputy Leader indicated to us that she had gone and sought instructions as to whether she could allow a lengthier debate, and that the Minister had made it clear that this legislation had to go through this House on a guillotine because it had to go-----

Yes.

Either the Government is coherent or it is not. To be clear, nobody said they spoke to the Minister directly.