John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Ceann Comhairle)

I am now moving to the question and answer session which will proceed in the same way as Question Time. I remind the House that, in accordance with established practice which has fallen by the wayside in recent years, Members should keep their supplementary questions brief and concise. There is no need for lengthy preambles and prologues. The reason we had statements was precisely that we did not want lengthy statements during the question and answer session. The objective of the exercise is to elicit information. If Members impart information instead of seeking it, the objective will clearly have been defeated. If Members co-operate in this way, I am sure everyone will have an opportunity to ask a question or questions and may even be called upon more than once. If Members do not proceed in that way, obviously, the procedure will fail, as has often happened.

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