It is proposed to take No. 11a, motion re promissory notes arrangement (resumed); and No. 27, Water Services Bill 2013 [Seanad] - Second Stage (resumed).

It is proposed, notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders, that the Dáil shall sit later than 5.45 p.m. tonight and shall adjourn on the conclusion of Oral Questions, and the sitting shall be suspended on the conclusion of No. 11a for 15 minutes; the proceedings in relation to No. 11a shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion at 2.30 p.m.; the resumed Second Stage of No. 27 shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion at 7 p.m. tonight and the order shall resume thereafter with Topical Issues and Oral Questions; and, for the purposes of Standing Order 117A, the first Friday of the month for March shall be Friday, 8 March 2013, the time and date by which notice of a Bill in connection with that sitting shall be received by the Clerk shall be 11 a.m. on Friday, 22 February 2013, and related Standing Orders shall apply accordingly.

There are four proposals to put to the House. Is the proposal for the suspension of sitting and that the Dáil shall sit later than 5.45 p.m. agreed to? Agreed. Is the proposal for dealing with No. 11a agreed to?

Not agreed.

Is the Deputy speaking on behalf of his party?

Yes.

I can only take a representative of each party.

When the legislation on Anglo Irish Bank was rushed through last week, we were promised a full and open-ended debate on the promissory notes. I ask the Government to lift the guillotine on that debate because it is important that all Deputies have an opportunity to speak. When I sought time to speak I was only given five minutes due to the guillotine. As a Deputy elected to this House I would like to speak on the matter for longer than five minutes.

Deputy Peter Mathews only got four minutes.

I ask the Minister to lift the guillotine to allow Members to speak on the matter for as long as they require.

A Leas-Cheann Comhairle -----

Sorry; I can only call representatives of parties. Deputy Higgins knows the situation. I will allow him to speak on the Order of Business.

He only has one seat now.

The Deputy will be lucky if he has one after the next election. He should be careful.

The Deputy cannot speak on this issue.

I want to say to the Minister-----

I cannot let you in.

He is not allowed to speak.

It is absolutely outrageous that the Minister is trying to curtail and guillotine this debate.

He cannot speak.

I have to call the leader.

The Minister is proposing to push through a debt which will burden our children and their children for next 40 years. That is outrageous.

Please resume your seat.

I listened to Deputy Higgins for many years on the administrative council of the Labour Party.

It is the same story over and over.

It is tragic that he could not hold together a party of two.

It is tragic that it took two parties to make the Labour Party.

From the Government's perspective, the more debate we have on the successful renegotiation of the promissory note, the better. I am happy to adjourn the debate at 2.30 p.m. if Deputies still wish to speak at that stage.

When will we return to the debate?

Whenever we get time.

Is the proposal withdrawn?

I withdraw the guillotine if Deputies wish to speak. I did not get an opportunity to speak, although I hoped to wrap up the debate today. I hope I will get an opportunity to speak. This is something that every Deputy should be required to consider, speak about and, ultimately, vote on because the people of Ireland will want to know where they stand on this issue.

Is it agreed that the proposal is withdrawn? Agreed. Is the proposal for dealing with No. 27 agreed to?

We do not agree with a guillotine on the Water Services Bill. This is important legislation and we think the guillotine should be lifted. I oppose the proposal.

It is privatisation of the water supply.

I will move on to No. 4. Is the proposal-----

On a point of order, while I welcome the Minister's lifting of the guillotine-----

We are moving on from that.

Many Deputies on all sides of the House spoke on this motion for a fairly short amount of time because of the restrictions imposed by the guillotine.

That has been dealt with.

Will the Minister consider allowing those who have already spoken on the motion to speak again, on the basis that sufficient time is now being provided to those who have yet to speak?

That is not a point of order.

Deputy Donnelly is too late.

I am making this suggestion in the interests of Deputies on all sides of the House.

He should have been here.

Is the proposal for the sitting and business of the Dáil on Friday, 8 March 2013, agreed to?

It is not agreed. I do not know what the Minister has against the Gregorian calendar. Perhaps he does not like fish on Fridays. We want to make it clear that we would like more time for parliamentary scrutiny, particularly in the context of Leaders' Questions and questions to Ministers. Five weeks have passed since I was able to ask questions of the Minister for Health. I will be here tonight for Question Time. If the House is sitting on a more frequent basis, we should provide for accountability by means of Leaders' Questions and ministerial questions, rather than pretending to be engaging in parliamentary democracy.

Hear, hear.

We would welcome that.

Most of us are here on Thursdays.

Well done, Deputy Keating. I am making a point about the very least we should be doing if we are to go down this road. We cannot accept the Friday sittings as long as they are no more than window-dressing.

We will vote on it if the Deputy likes.

The substantive issue is the ability of the Opposition to hold the Government to account on Leaders' Questions and to hold Ministers to account on Question Time.

I recall listening to the Deputy on a previous occasion when he spoke on a Friday sitting. I think he had to get a train to Dublin afterwards.

That is right.

I drove. I was there. The point is that there was nothing I could do.

The Deputy is making a point that would be more properly discussed by the Committee on Procedure and Privileges. If the Deputy has any proposals to improve the functioning of the House, I am sure his Whip will be able to bring them forward.

We could have Saturday sittings.

I am putting the question.