Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)

As this is the only opportunity at which I can do this properly, I ask whether Government time will be made available to discuss the general issue of the role of committees. I raise this in a non-partisan way. The issue that has been raised with the Taoiseach so far is not merely who will be the chair or vice-chair, or even the number of committees. There is a significant difference between the select committees and committees which have a different and wider role, for example, the Committee on Foreign Affairs of which I have been a member for a long time — since 1993 — and which I sought to establish in 1987. These committees have not had their functions defined and we need time in the House to discuss that. For example, is the committee I mentioned, the Committee on Foreign Affairs, to be responsible to this House and autonomous from the Department of Foreign Affairs, and what is the difference between the committee when it discusses issues such as the Iraq war, the Estimates, or legislation, the amount of which is small? We have never had time in the House to discuss the fundamental role of committees. Are they to be scrutiny committees, committees for the processing of legislation, committees in the European model for the introduction of legislation, or for seriously amending legislation, etc.?

As someone who is here for more than 20 years, it is not a matter of who will fill the posts and it is not really a matter for the whips. We need time in the Parliament to discuss what are the most appropriate terms of reference for the committees. This is an urgent matter because after the committees are established by order, which will be introduced by the Government Whip, it will be too late to change the terms of reference and the committee chairpersons sitting as the representatives of the Government.

It is a serious issue that the chairs of committees are the property of the Executive. It is a very serious issue in the comparative politics in the European Union of which we are members. Therefore, I am making a proper request for Government time to discuss the role of the different forms of committee in the House, with consideration and balancing of their terms of reference, the degree of their autonomy and their responsibility to Parliament and to the Executive. After that, we can get on to the much lesser stuff of who will fill the positions.

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