Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)

I raised this with the Whip over a month ago and put forward a proposal, which was endorsed in a report by the committee secretariat. The proposal, based on proportional representation, is that all parties be represented on the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission. This would still allow a Government majority, a substantial one. The commission deals with the funding and running of this House. Every party has its own view and should have its own input into the running of the Houses and into how to save money, particularly in this era. The standards, practices and working conditions of the substantial number of staff in the Houses should also be reflected. If the voices of parties such as Sinn Féin and all the Independents, not just those in the Technical Group, are not represented on the commission, it will be difficult to ensure their points of views are represented. The positive role we can play should be borne in mind.

In the previous Dáil we were excluded and did not receive a report from the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission, which meant a substantial number of Members were in the dark regarding its decisions and the subjects it discussed. We believe that in this era of openness, this should not occur in the current Dáil, especially given the increased size of my party and the increased number of Independents. The practice of proportional representation should have been reflected in the motion and we oppose it because it is not.

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