I am not talking about yesterday-----

A Chathaoirligh-----

I am not talking about yesterday. I am talking about today and whether this Bill is of sufficient urgency to justify having all Stages dealt with in one day, putting us under pressure not to call votes on amendments, etc., in order to rush the Bill through.

That is the point I make. I am opposed to the idea that this Bill needs to be rushed through in one day. Some of the measures in it are good, some are excessive and some need to be amended. There is no need for us to rush it through. This is not an emergency. In my view, and I may be in a minority on this, it is not a matter of tremendous urgency that the particular powers to close pubs in circumstances that are envisaged by the Bill, either temporarily or for longer periods, must be rushed through without adequate…

It is relevant.

Would you allow me speak and stop interrupting me, please?

I am not talking about yesterday. I am talking about today.

I am merely saying that we are putting unnecessary pressure on ourselves not to have votes, to curtail discussion and all the rest of it due to social distancing and public-----

For the third time, Chairman, I am not talking about the education debate. I am talking about the attempt today to rush through in one day without adequate consideration the criminal justice Bill which is before us. I am not talking about the education statements at all. I am saying I object-----

You keep raising it every time I speak. You have raised it three times. You have said that yesterday and today various things could have happened. I am talking about today.

And no vote on Second Stage.

On Second Stage?

That is all part of a plan to get this Bill rushed through into legislation and not adequately considered. It is a phony urgency that attaches to this Bill. For that reason I am not content to agree to the Order of Business.

I did not have an opportunity due to the Committee on Procedure and Privileges meeting to participate in the debate earlier today. I do not want to make a Second Stage speech, but I am concerned that this measure is, in fact, overly complex to deal with a reaction to the Berlin D2 bar incident in Dublin and is not as necessary as might be thought. It certainly is not as urgent as might be thought. One element that worries me is that because of the pressure on this House, we have now arrived at the position that one…

This Act allows the enforcement-----

I had not because the enforcement of the regulations is allowed under this Act.

It does.

On a point of order, they did not exist when I was in the Department and I resisted their propagation in Cabinet and elsewhere. It is since then that they have mushroomed around Dublin.

I, too, welcome the Minister of State. I congratulate him on his appointment. I thank him for his offer to discuss with me the question of gambling. I assure Senator Conway that I am not opposed to An Garda Síochána being given powers to enforce the law in general terms. I have no doubt that An Garda Síochána will apply the powers it is being given with discretion and reasonableness. All of those things go without saying. However, we must bear in mind that we are, in effect, giving powers to An Garda Síochána to en…

Yesterday, I mentioned a request made to the Deputy Leader to have the Minister with responsibility for culture come here to address the subject of the removal of statues from outside the Shelbourne Hotel. I was slightly disturbed to see the ambivalent remarks made by the Lord Mayor of Dublin, who is in the same party as the Minister, about the statues. There is no slavery at all suggested with these statues and the leg ornamentation shown on them is simply that. There is no slave involvement at all so I presume th…