Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The Government is defined in the Constitution, which sets out its role and the principles under which it operates. All government decisions are taken on a collective basis and are the responsibility of every member of the Government. To introduce a provision stating that the Government includes all Cabinet Ministers would be tautological.

On the specific point made by the Deputy, I assure her that every member of the Cabinet was actively involved in all budgets produced since the formation of the Government. Moreover, every individual issue was formally tabled at Cabinet, all decisions have been taken on a collective basis and responsibility for decisions lies with every member of Cabinet.