Government setting political trap for Opposition, Ross warns

SEANAD REPORT:THE OPPOSITION should ensure it does not fall for the political trap being set by the Government on how to remedy the dire state of the public finances, Senator Shane Ross(Ind) said.

His view was challenged by Senator Paul Bradford(FG), who said there was a challenge "on this side of the House, in particular, to rise to the occasion and to respond to a grave national crisis".

Mr Ross said that while he would give a guarded welcome to the Government’s decision to introduce a mini-budget, there was a pattern of simply reacting to the latest disaster or set of figures. There was absolute bedlam in the public finances.

The Opposition should look at the books, but it should also realise that it was being asked by the Government to put forward ideas on how the Irish people should be punished for the incompetence which had brought us to this point. If the Opposition went along with this, the Government would blame them for the action that was being taken, he said.

“It’s a very dangerous game that is being played here. It is very cunning and it is very cynical. The Opposition should be very careful, because the Government should sort this out.”

- A Fianna Fáil member asked why it was the case that if two people of the same sex were living together one could not adopt the other's child. Mary Whitesaid she empathised with senators who sought to amend the Adoption Bill by including in the definition of "married couple" a same sex married couple or a couple who had entered a registered civil partnership.

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Barry Andrews, said the proposal was premature ahead of the publication of the measure to deal with civil partnerships.

Ivana Bacik (Ind)said the Minister had made that point earlier, but the heads of the Civil Partnership Bill made no reference to children or adoption. Ms Bacik did not press her proposed amendment but stated that she would re-visit the matter at the Report stage of the Bill.