Thomas Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I endorse Deputy Dooley's comments and I hope for unanimity at the committee today. We are talking about political reform and making the Oireachtas more independent. Members of this committee echoed those sentiments at various summer schools this summer. I urge them to put that into action here today. The motion is not controversial. It is something for which Members from all sides have asked. I suggest that the only significant means of communication this committee has is to pass a motion. That is our way of communicating. That is how we do our business. We can write all the letters we like but they do not have the same impact as a motion before what is probably the most important finance committee. We are in fact looking for less information than some committees of the German Parliament have had. That is the reality. We are looking only for parity of esteem, on a confidential basis, with the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council. While the Minister's letter is welcome, it does come with the caveat that everybody around the table has acknowledged in terms of being a version of the presentation.