Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

The Taoiseach indicated in response to a query last week or the previous week that he was open to determining in which way the arrangements of the House could better serve all of us. He emphasised that when we discussed Dáil reform, it was a two-way street. We need an Executive that is accountable to Parliament and parliamentary time and procedures that enable Ministers to get on with their jobs without having to spend half of their working day attending the Order of Business, to procedural wrangling, arguments or votes that continue interminably, which does not serve the House well. If there is goodwill on all sides, we should be able to make some improvements to our arrangements. Sometimes I believe Dáil reform is characterised as the Government trying to deny the Opposition parliamentary time and the Opposition trying to use all of the time available. It is time for us to recognise in an adult way our various responsibilities and to sit down and come up with solutions to these problems. Successive Whips on all sides have made many efforts to improve the situation.

The first hour of the House's proceedings receives much attention, but the important work occurring in committees or in plenary session of the House is not covered. We need arrangements whereby the business of the House as ordered is dealt with quickly and effectively. If there are topical issues of the day that need to be addressed, we should find a means to do so rather than have everyone enter the House full of vim first thing in the morning and ending at 12.30 p.m. after a series of arguments during which light is not thrown on much and conveying this image to the wider public because of our arrangements and procedures. It is time to move beyond this to try to have arrangements that are modern and family-friendly.

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