Pat Carey (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)

The Deputy will have an opportunity if, or when, he reaches this side of the House.

I assure the House and the public that the Government is committed to ensuring Ministers of State represent optimum value for money and that they contribute to the savings that are so necessary to put our economy and our public finances back on an even keel. Along with Ministers, Ministers of State accepted a voluntary pay reduction of 10% late last year. In addition, the recently enacted public service pension levy deduction applies to salaries of Ministers and Ministers of State as it does to the salaries of all public servants. The cadre of Ministers of State will continue to play an invaluable role in the delivery of our extensive programme for Government and represents even better value for money.

Much has been said about Oireachtas and Government reform. I assure the House that the Government is fully committed to promoting efficiency and reducing costs in all aspects of the administration of the Oireachtas and the running of Government. As parliamentarians, we must also show that we are committed to ensuring that the Oireachtas remains relevant in the way it does its business to our people now and in the future. We must also show we are motivated by the determination to drive down costs and deliver an ever more efficient service. To these ends, in addition to the measures already mentioned, the Government has piloted a wide range of important initiatives, which I will mention briefly.

I refer to Seanad reform. The sub-committee of the Seanad Committee on Procedure and Privileges published a report in April 2004. That report raised a range of difficult and complex issues. It set out recommendations for comprehensive reform of the Seanad for further consideration. These recommendations are being considered by the all-party group chaired by my colleague, the Minister, Deputy John Gormley, in line with the commitment in the programme for Government to establish the extent of all-party consensus on the issues.

I understand that all political parties are currently considering a paper prepared by the group setting out various issues associated with Seanad reform in advance of the group's final meeting scheduled for 22 April 2009. Clearly, the whole question of Seanad reform is a core element in a wider debate about democracy and the political process. We saw something of that on "The Late Late Show" last Friday night. The work of the group is potentially of major significance and I am sure I speak for all in the House when I wish the Minister, Deputy John Gormley, and his group well as they strive to find an all-party consensus approach to this important issue.

I refer to Dáil reform, an area in which I have a particular interest. I am delighted to see Deputy Stanton in the House and I commend him on all the work he has done in this area. We sometimes hear criticisms that parliament in general, including this House, has become somewhat irrelevant to the needs and interests of contemporary society. I believe profoundly that such criticisms are usually founded on an incomplete understanding of the work parliamentarians do. However, it would be foolish and blinkered to adopt a complacent attitude and assume we can continue to discharge our business without alteration, following unchanged patterns laid down in the past. Like all institutions, this House must adapt and change to reflect developments in society at large.

With this in mind, the Government has established a group to identify how best we can restructure the way we do our business in the Dáil and to ensure that the people have a modern Parliament which reflects their concerns and needs. As all of us know, the Dáil has two primary roles which are to be examined by the group and, where possible, improved. These are to bring forward legislation and to hold the Government to account. The working group is charged with identifying a range of reforms which will improve the workings of the Dáil as a Parliament for the 21st century.

There are many good ideas out there which have come from the Opposition as well as from the Government side. The Government side does not claim to have a monopoly on knowledge or insight on how to restructure the business of the Dáil. The Government initiative in this area has the potential to make this House truly relevant to the needs of our evolving society. I am confident that within a relatively short period of time, we will be in a position to bring forward very significant proposals which I hope will receive broad approval from the House. Deputy Stanton is smiling.

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