House of Assembly Speaker Ernest DeCouto allowed MPs to speak during Friday night's Motion to Adjourn -- even though he had already "ended'' proceedings.

The Speaker hammered his gavel to signal the end of the day's debate seconds after Premier Pamela Gordon moved that the House stood adjourned.

He asked if any MPs wanted to "speak to the motion'' -- and halted proceedings after a delay of several seconds.

But PLP members protested. And the Speaker reminded MPs of the rules but allowed them to continue.

Shadow Works and Engineering Minister Stanley Morton started by calling on Government to be more sympathetic to Bermuda's workforce, who he claimed were often stuck in bad conditions.

"People in this House should be concerned about the treatment of people in the workplace,'' he said. "We want Government to sit down and deal frankly and up front with people. There are too many company employees who are suffering and not getting fair treatment.

"The unions need assistance to give them the kind of protection that they need.'' Former Home Affairs Minister Quinton Edness , now speaking from the backbenches, praised Government's plan to open up empty schools as housing for poorer tenants.

And he criticised Opposition Leader Jennifer Smith for saying she was "shocked and surprised'' on hearing the news.

PLP MPs cried "too little too late'' as the debate became more heated.

But Mr. Edness said: "Here was an opportunity to say what the PLP's housing policy was.

"They can't go around saying: `When we are the Government, trust us, we will do differently' and not telling the people of this country what they are going to do.

"We have a very intelligent electorate and before they elect anybody, they want to know what they are all about.'' Former Opposition Leader Lois Browne-Evans countered: "I wish Mr. Edness would learn from his cousin over here, how to act in a mature way and as a statesman.

"It's not about sinking into political trash during the Motion to Adjourn.'' Shadow Immigration Minister Alex Scott also used the Motion to Adjourn to criticise The Royal Gazette for its record on Bermudianisation.

He said one woman applied for a columnist's job at the newspaper before permission was given for five expatriates to join as reporters or subs last year.

And Mr. Scott said she had written about her experiences with the firm and the Department of Immigration on the Internet.

"The Gazette becomes a good example of bad policies when it comes to the Bermudianisation of our industry.

"It's clear that they only advertise these jobs to satisfy the Department of Immigration.'' Home Affairs Minister Maxwell Burgess defended the Government's record on Bermudianisation.

But he reminded the House that Bermudians had to be qualified and could not expect to walk into any job purely on the grounds of their nationality.

Replying to earlier comments about promotions in the Regiment he explained that a promotions board, appointed by the Governor, was responsible for those decisions and that the Government could not be held responsible.

Mr. Burgess went on to say how the Island's construction industry was booming but that some Bermudians had failed to turn up for construction job interviews.

And he pointed out that there were fewer foreign workers on the Island than there were "in the good old days''.

"That doesn't suggest to me that the shop's been given away,'' he said.

Shadow Human Affairs spokesman Dr. Ewart Brown had the house in stitches when he related how he had prescribed the impotence drug Viagra to a patient.

But he made a serious point when he claimed that insurance companies were not prepared to pay for the drug.

He also claimed that the public had been misled on the question of Government funding. Responding to continual Government questions about how a PLP Government would fund it's programmes, he said: "Regardless of which party is in Government they will have access to the same amount of money through the existing tax process.

"The real question is what the Government will do with that money.'' Dr. Brown also called on the Government to ban smoking from buildings and the grounds of the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital.

Tourism Minister David Dodwell made several points in his address. He criticised the magazine Bermuda Business Visitor, a publication targeted at visitors, which he claimed made "unfortunate comments'' about Bermudians.

But he did have good news for the House, revealing that hotel occupancy rates were up.

He also raised the issue of the collapsed Co-Op, much to the anger of Opposition members. He said that there were no winners in the episode, but the compay was irresponsible not to have had an AGM or an audit.

Grace Bell raised the issue of affordable housing, claiming that single men, as well as women with families, were also homeless and in need of help.

And she blasted the Government for doing "too little too late'' to help the homeless.

Finance Minister Dr. Grant Gibbons agreed with Dr. Ewart Brown that the Opposition would have access to the same amount of revenue if it were in power.

But he asked how the money would be used.

Shadow Tourism Minister David Allen dismissed his counterpart's earlier claim that tourism figures were looking good.

He said the reason for higher occupancy rates was the fact that so many hotels had gone out of business.

He also expressed concerns that soon to be installed security cameras would eventually replace Police officers.

"I would like to see more foot soldiers out there,'' he said.

He said Government was trying to "smear'' the PLP over the fall of the Co-Op.

"It appears to be a litany on how a PLP Government would manage,'' he said.

He began listing companies which had links with Government ministers which had run into financial trouble but ran into trouble when he cited the law firm Richards, Francis and Francis as an example. Health Minister Wayne Furbert works for the firm.

Deputy Premier Jerome Dill said: "We are concerned about the accuracy of the statement made by the honourable member.

"It's inaccurate to say that the law firm with which Wayne Furbert was associated is going out of business for financial difficulties. It is being wound up in the normal fashion.'' Derrick Burgess , for the PLP, defended his party on the Co-Op issue, claiming that the company was not run by the PLP or the BIU.

Shadow Health and Social Services Minister Renee Webb made a passionate appeal to Government -- put Bermudians first! Speaking about Bermudianisation, Ms Webb said the PLP supported new career programmes to give Bermudians qualifications.

Deputy Premier Jerome Dill , speaking after David Allen had been ejected from the Chamber, had words of praise for defector MP Grace Bell , now on the PLP side.

He applauded her for not descending into politicking on a night of otherwise heated debates, and making "a touching appeal'' for the 40 families in most dire need of affordable housing. Opposition Leader Jennifer Smith raised concerns that pre-school children could not be allowed in before 8.30 because of nursery policies, "no matter what the weather''.

She also said there were fears that a summer programme for special needs students had been scrapped.

But new Education Minister Tim Smith said he had only encountered one school where parents wanted doors open earlier than 8.30, and most started opening as soon as teachers arrived.