Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

In the past, every line Minister held a press conference in his or her Department to outline the details of the Estimate proposals. That is all gone this year. We understand the reform. We are not as intellectually challenged as the Minister for Transport seems to think we are. We are seeking arrangements which will facilitate Deputies and the media as we try to develop a comprehensive understanding of what the Minister for Finance is proposing. We are asking for fairly detailed arrangements to be put in place to allow the Opposition to do its job in the Dáil on budget day.

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