Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

That is not true. The Chief Whip will bring forward comprehensive measures. The plenary sessions could be improved. Unfortunately, much good work is conducted at committee level that is not relayed to the general public. I do not accept that we do not do important work. There is an exercise in accountability here every day of the week. I am in the House every Tuesday afternoon and every Wednesday morning to answer questions in various ways, whether on the Order of Business or during Leaders' Questions. That compares very favourably with the work of any other Prime Minister in a similar jurisdiction. We need to allow the Chief Whip to bring forward a comprehensive set of proposals and not just debate them but make some decisions.

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