20 
So we are talking 140 or there abouts who will vote on it without having debated it…
Are the TDs not supposed to be at work? The Dáil sits seldom enough without 85% of the TDs not even bothering to turn up!
The only “work” TDs do is their constituency work…
They are too busy writing letters to the HSE about some consituent that has been on a waiting list for 8 months instead of fixing the problem that is causing the waiting list.
isnt there (shouldnt there be) a qurum?
Yes; one of the TDs has to call one though for it to be “noticed”. Since their mates are still enjoying their digestion this would make them unpopular with their crowd. , and so this is not done.
This is a total outrage. Unbelievably sickening. I have emailed all my tds to demand an answer as to why they were not present to inform themselves of the single most important law they will ever have to vote on.
There is no such thing as democracy in this country. The whips should be first against the wall after the revolution (and ahern was a whip for FF before MOF)
Lenihan the sneaky guy that he is, is adding ammendemnts to the bill.
140 TDs wont have a fucking clue what is in the bill that is the bailout to the upper crust friends of the gombeens of destiny.
Would it be possible to table an amendment that only those who have attended get to vote on this bill 
The rest of these innumerate morons are too busy driving around to maximise expense claims.
This is a failed state.
The issue of low attendance numbers for various stages of bills has been highlighted in the past - the standard response from TDs is that they have the debate from the Dail chamber on their office TVs and can follow it from there, which allows them to concentrate on other aspects of their work such as committee-related duties etc.
It also conveniently allows them to
-
drink coffee, eat biscuits, and swing the lead all day
-
work on the important issues relating to their re-election such as writing letters of representation to fellow party ministers who sit down the corridor, requesting their urgent intervention in some pressing parish-pump drama (and copying at least 10 people on the mail as a “cover your arse” exercise - who gives a fuck, the taxpayer is paying for the paper, envelopes, postage, etc.)
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think up new hare-brained schemes
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prepare and practice their 5-minute waffley contribution to some obscure bill or other, thus making up their total speaking contribution for the year
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contemplate their navels, and maybe pull their respective plums if they’re really bored
Is the wording of the amendments online anywhere? This is where they will sneak the missing bits of puzzle.
This is what I could find on Oireachtas.ie:
20 October 2009
Committee Amendments / Dáil Éireann / National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009
oireachtas.ie/documents/bill … 9D-DCN.pdf
21 October 2009
Committee Amendments (First Additional List) / Dáil Éireann / National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009
oireachtas.ie/documents/bill … -DSCN1.pdf
22 October 2009
Committee Amendments (Second Additional List) / Dáil Éireann / National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009
oireachtas.ie/documents/bill … -DSCN2.pdf
Committee Amendments (Third Additional List) / Dáil Éireann / National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009
oireachtas.ie/documents/bill … -DSCN3.pdf
The main NAMA bill page.
oireachtas.ie/viewdoc.asp?DocID=12724&&CatID=59
If you want a laugh ring a tame TD and get them to go into the house and call a Votail for a giggle. If Kenny. et.al were serious about opposition the NAMA debate would be a three-line whip all the way with no pairings AT ALL.
Thanks. Some very good amedments from the opposition (mostly Joan Burton) on transparency. And it looks like the minister is trying to sneak in some more parts of the mechanism of the scam.
irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2009/1022/breaking37.htm
"The Oireachtas finance committee is meeting today to debate the National Assets Management Agency Bill 2009.
The debate is being held in the Dáil chamber today…"
So is it just the finance committee that are supposed to be there?
IIRC the opposition had demanded it in Committee of the Whole Dail. Then they make a complete mockery by not bothering their bollixes to turn up.
aha
the longer this goes on, the more it becomes apparent that the opposition are mostly concerned with political posturing and point scoring. NAMA is a given, even with a general election in the morning…
From the RTE website :
The amendment was defeated by seven votes to five. Only members of the Finance and Public Service Committee can vote at this stage.
rte.ie/news/2009/1022/banks.html
That explains the numbers in the Dáil.