Thomas Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am not giving out to him. It is not his fault, as he has only been in the Cabinet since this week. It is the fault of the Government, including the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Brendan Howlin; the Minister for Finance, Deputy Michael Noonan, and the Taoiseach. Senators cannot blame Fianna Fáil for this one as the issue arose last year. The Minister is new to the job, in which I wish him the very best. I am delighted he has been appointed to it.

It is amazing to see newly appointed Ministers coming into the House this week, whom we all wish the best of luck, who have not had the chance to take a second look at the legislation put before them. I see Ministers in the Dáil answering questions on issues about which they cannot know much in their first few days in office. They should have taken a breather on legislation and questions to apprise themselves and look at matters afresh in the Department. They have the summer to do so on most issues and I urge them to take that opportunity. They are elected to give their views and appointed by their leaders because of their talent and insight and their parliamentary party members, as well the public, expect this from them.

This is stopgap legislation while the position of Clerk of the Dáil remains unfilled. This issue came to light last week when the Government lost a vote and, all of a sudden, legislation is being rushed through. What has happened between the Ceann Comhairle and the Government is an unseemly spat that is continuing and does not reflect well on the day-to-day running of the national Parliament. No Clerk of the Dáil, a critical member of staff, has been appointed. While we are talking about the post of Clerk Assistant of the Seanad, I congratulate Mr. Martin Groves who was recently appointed to the position.

I would love to oppose the Bill, but I cannot stand in the way in holding a by-election to the Seanad. That would be undemocratic, but we need answers on what is happening between the Government and the Ceann Comhairle. Legislation such as this which has an impact on the workings of the House should not come from the Government but from the Houses. Part of the problem is that, despite all the talk, we do not have a separation between the Government and the Parliament. The work of the Parliament on a day-to-day basis is mandated and directed by Ministers and officials in Departments. I say this with no disrespect to them because that is the system we have in place. We would like to see a Clerk of the Dáil being appointed in the proper way, respecting the independence of the Parliament. We will support the Bill and will not stand in the way in holding a by-election which the Government will surely win owing to the electoral system. I hope, however, that there will be competition within the parties for the seat and that there will not just be one candidate. Under our stewardship, there was more than one candidate from Fianna Fáil running for these positions.

I would like the Minister to address the issues raised, but we genuinely wish him the best of luck. The Bill should have been held off until he had had a chance to look at it over the summer and discussed it with his colleagues.