Is the proposal for dealing with 15a, motion re events at Ballymurphy in 1971 and legacy issues agreed to? Agreed. Is the proposal for No. 43, statements on Northern Ireland agreed to? Agreed. Is the proposal for dealing with No. 42, Children (Amendment) Bill 2015 - Report and Final Stages agreed to? Agreed. Is the proposal for dealing with No. 1, Petroleum (Exploration and Extraction) Safety Bill 2015 - Second and Remaining Stages agreed to?

Not agreed. I oppose the guillotine of all Stages of the Petroleum (Exploration and Extraction) Safety Bill 2015. This Bill transposes EU Directive 2013/30/EU which was published as far back as June 2013 yet, two years later, the Government is only now putting forward the legislation to deal with it. It is very worrying that it has taken so long for the Government to implement a directive that regulates potentially hazardous activity in petroleum exploration and extraction. Indeed, the State's past handling of the Corrib gas project in Mayo, Taoiseach, is a reminder of why adequate time should be made available to debate this legislation and to reflect on the directive. It is guillotine time of the year but we object, as ever, to rushing legislation such as this through the House. It is not as if we have not had plenty of sitting days if we had only organised them in a more productive fashion. We are at the finishing line and rushing things in this way is not a good way to proceed.

Deputy McDonald is entitled to make her point. The purpose of the Bill is to transpose the offshore safety directive 2013/30 which follows the European Commission's review of offshore oil and gas operations in Europe, which in turn was prompted by the Deepwater Horizon accident in the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010. Our principal safety legislation is the Petroleum Exploration and Extraction Safety Act 2010. As this Act is broadly consistent with the directive, the proposed approach to transposition in Ireland is to amend the existing statutory framework by means of primary legislation and to integrate the directive requirements with the Commission for Energy Regulation and the existing petroleum safety framework. If we do not transpose this by the deadline of 19 July we would be out of line with almost all EU member states who have developed an offshore oil and gas sector as most of them expect to meet the transposition deadline.

Why did the Government not do this more quickly?

It would negatively impact on Ireland's ability to engage with the European Commission over the coming months in the debate on how the important matter of financial liability for environmental damage will be addressed by regulators and it would send a negative signal to industry in advance of the 2015 Atlantic licensing round which closes for application on 16 September.

Following transposition of the directive the Commission for Energy Regulation will have to revise its existing petroleum framework so that it can operate on the basis of the directive from 19 July 2016. The regulator will need to publish proposals once the directive is transposed and allow time for consultation with the industry and other interested bodies. Slippage in its transposition will limit time for that consultation, which is very important.

The Taoiseach refers to slippage in transposition after a delay of two years.