The last time the Taoiseach imposed a guillotine in respect of water charges was when he was introducing his bondholders' water tax. That decision was to fill the black hole left by the billions transferred to bondholders in the European financial markets. There is no mystery about that. It means the Taoiseach did not hear the representatives from this side who would have told him that this tax would bring his party and the Government close to perdition, which it has, and that it would face a national revolt, which it has.

People will no longer tolerate being lied to in general elections - pretending there will be no water charges and then stabbing them in the back, as the Labour Party did.

The reason we need more time is that the latest political trickery the Government is up to, which involves pretending to people that water charges will only cost them a crooked halfpenny and telling them they should not be too worried about the charges, will not be accepted.

People know what the Government is up to. The minute it gets them embedded, which it could do but will not, they will rise inexorably as soon as the pressure is off. We need the time to explain that to the Taoiseach because he is a very slow learner with regard to what our people will and will not tolerate.

Deputy Higgins did not learn much from the anti-bin-charge campaign.

He is taking a long time to learn himself.

He did not learn anything. He helped to privatise the bin services.

They will not tolerate any more of this last-----

I think the Deputy has made his point.

-----massive sting of the Government's austerity taxes. The Taoiseach needs to be told that and we need the time to do it. Therefore, there should be no guillotine.

Does the Taoiseach wish to reply?

I thank Deputy Higgins for his recognition of my academic brilliance. If that is the way he feels, I cannot force him to say something else.

He said that as a former teacher.

We have Leaders' Questions on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. We have a Private Members' motion in the name of the Sinn Féin Party this evening and Thursday morning. We have a motion on water reforms, which have been requested by every Deputy in the House on Leaders' Questions, Topical Issue debates, emergency debates and questions every day for the last number of months. I know very well that if the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government came here tomorrow to announce his water reforms or announced them outside the House, Members would scream to have the matter debated immediately.

The Taoiseach should not be so upset.

He has gone very sensitive.

Deputies have had their say.

I know Deputies Martin and Adams well enough. They can complain about it if they wish but I think it streamlines the business of the House. We now know the business for the week. We discussed this before and Deputy Martin would not agree. When he requested changes, we made them.

There was no discussion.

Is he worried about holding the backbenches?

I think it is very orderly. There are Leaders' Questions and Topical Issues today and we will take Leaders' Questions tomorrow and Thursday. We will take Private Members' business this evening and on Thursday morning. There will be an announcement in the Dáil, where it should be made, tomorrow at 3 p.m., and thereafter we will have a debate tomorrow evening and until 8 p.m. on Thursday, with a vote.

Can we have a piece of cake as well?

What about your teas?

We learned a lesson last year because there was a lot of criticism about the build-up of legislation in the context of the troika and everything else during the last session of the Dáil.

Where is the legal services Bill?

No legislation was guillotined this year. I do not think one will find its equivalent in the records of the Dáil over the past 40 years. Legislation was guillotined time after time, Government after Government. There was no guillotine on any legislation in 2014. What we have here is a motion on water reforms, on which the House will vote at 8 p.m. on Thursday.