Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

In 2007, it is bizarre that the Parliament must order the time it allows for committees to sit and Members to do their work on the basis of the constraints of space. I urge the Chief Whip to address these serious deficiencies so that we can have a better opportunity to play our part to the full. Welcome developments took place in 2000 but we are only a handful of years from that and it is obvious there was insufficient planning for the future needs of the Houses.

I look forward to the establishment of committees at the earliest opportunity. While all Members cannot access their committees of choice, I hope my party colleagues and I, now smaller in number, will be accommodated by the larger blocs. Government has a responsibility in this. It should not act only in the interest of perpetuating its own majority position but look to its responsibility to ensure access to all elected voices. Our mandates are the equal of any other in this Chamber. We have the right to access committees in order to perform our role to the best of our ability. It is a sad reflection on the arrangements in the House that one must engage in negotiation, barter and begging to have a chance to play one's part. That is not what was expected by the electorate which made us their choice, either in first position or with high preferences, in the recent election. The electorate deserves, as do their elected voices, the apportionment of equal opportunity to all representatives in this House. I hope that will be the case in the future. I look forward to participating in committee work in the new Dáil for whatever time lies ahead.

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