Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)

How will provision be made for the meetings that have taken place between the chairpersons of committees? Perhaps it will be made by way of Supplementary Estimate. It is acceptable that we agreed to No. 10a this morning without debate because that sum covers the administration of the House. I understand the Accounting Officer for the Vote of the House is the Clerk of the Dáil. Meetings have taken place between the chairs of all the committees that have been established and they have begun making statements on the needs of the various committees.

A parliamentary question I tabled relating to the Committee on Foreign Affairs was turned down by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Dermot Ahern, as he has no function in the funding of that committee. The matter was referred to this Vote for the Houses of the Oireachtas. If we are to drive the reform of practices in these Houses and if committees are to have the resources, including physical resources, recording equipment, staff, meeting rooms and so on, that nearly all committee members agree on, will we have a separate Supplementary Estimate? Account must be taken of the additional resources needed to enable the committee system to function well because it has been expanded but not resourced. However, are we to take it that No. 10a, which was agreed without debate this morning and which applies to an existing level of expenditure, is the only opportunity we will have to properly fund the reforms that are desperately needed to change a committee system that is not working into a system that involves proper consultation?

I put this question to the Tánaiste because it is difficult to know where one should get information on the Houses of the Oireachtas. Regarding the Order of Business, will the Government order a Supplementary Estimate that will enable the expansion of committee resources agreed by the committee chairpersons?

See this speech in context