Yes, under the stewardship of the Ceann Comhairle.

Perhaps that is because there are a greater variety of opinions now than there were in the past.

No, there is a majority.

We are in a democracy as well, remember.

I accept that.

Is the proposal for dealing with today's business agreed? Agreed. Tomorrow's business is set out by the Chief Whip. Is the business for tomorrow agreed to?

It is not agreed, on the basis outlined.

The Social Democrats strongly object to tomorrow's business, in particular the debate on the commission on mother and baby homes being sealed for 30 years and the manner in which this is being brought before the House. It has been rammed through the Seanad and there has been no pre-legislative scrutiny on it. Inevitably, it will face a guillotine given the time allocated to the debate. It is an incredibly important Bill and if it is passed as it is, it will be an act of political cowardice. We will not be complicit in that.

I wish to say the very same as the previous speaker. This is a shambles. Those who were in mother and baby homes and families have waited long enough. The way the Government is treating them is shambolic. It is being rushed through the House without any proper scrutiny. We are also opposed to it.

I agree that the mother and baby homes commission is a sensitive matter for a lot of people. We should not trivialise or try to short-circuit the matter. I have never heard so many people worried about a Bill. We have not had time to go through it properly. It is important that we dedicate time to debate it in a sensible way because it is such a sensitive issue for so many people.

It is such a major issue for so many people and we need to show respect. The State has apologised. The optics of what we are trying to do here are absolutely wrong.

I agree with previous speakers. It is clear that not enough time has been allocated to the debate on the Bill. The legislation has been described as an emergency but the report was imminent when the Minister briefed Opposition Deputies a couple of months ago. We are now approaching the final days. The Minister is introducing an amendment to change the date to January 2021. A simple Bill of one line could change the date to January. That would be sufficient to facilitate a proper debate and discussion on what is involved in this Bill. It is vital that we do that.

I was under the impression that a number of the Minister’s amendments have taken on board some of the concerns that have been raised.

I spoke on this matter in the House last week. The issues with the Bill are very clear. It is for the preservation, in the first instance, of the records and the necessity to do that before the end of this month. The bona fides of the Minister in this should not be questioned. He wants to do the right thing by those most affected as well and-----

He certainly does not.

-----this will be followed by further legislation. He is willing to engage with Members of the Opposition on the issues.

For the information of the Taoiseach, the Minister put forward an amendment to the Bill that will delay the need to do this until January of next year. All we need is a one-line Bill to delay everything until January and allow us to have a proper debate.