Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)

I remind the Ceann Comhairle that there is a further body of Dáil reform proposals from the Green Party. The constructive proposals of all the parties should be taken on board. The Government needs to sit down and work out the changes. One of the major flaws, which this incident demonstrates, is the freedom given to Ministers not just to roam geographically but to roam in their answers. They deliberately evade giving the salient information requested. In so doing we are provided with a flawed parliamentary procedure. They do not answer the questions they are asked. This is particularly galling for the Green Party which may ask priority questions only on every third day. This type of incident means we lose the opportunity to ask our priority question, which we did with an ordinary question that should have been answered also. We are not talking about victimless crimes here. The impact on parliamentary life is not just about credibility, it is also about effectiveness. We are not able to put the questions when the business of the Dáil is interrupted by this type of disruption.

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