Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

No. People are doing it this very week. I am trying to make a point concerning the future more than the present. We should not close ourselves to systems that operate very well because somebody has a certain view. I accept the view but I would argue it. If limitations had be placed on the existing system, I would accept a provision concerning a parliamentary party. However, if later today, for totally proper reasons, Deputy Rabbitte wanted to be briefed on a Bill by a civil servant who may be the expert on the relevant legislation for the past ten or 15 years, or if he needed to obtain clarification on some point for 15 minutes on which someone may have written to him, there would be nothing wrong with his doing so. There is no sense in the idea that we should have an all-party group comprising members from my side and the other side. The idea involves a misunderstanding of how this House works.

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