Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

Does the Minister of State agree that many people are cynical when they hear the words "Dáil reform" mentioned? It has been discussed for many years and to date there is very little evidence of progress. Does the Minister of State agree that the issue that distracts from much of the important and - I acknowledge - valuable work being done by the Dáil and all Members of the House is the issue of the expenses of Members? Quite frankly, it is the elephant in the room. Would the Minister of State support a system of complete openness and transparency in which all expenses are vouched, fully reported and accounted for, open to scrutiny by the public and reported on an annual basis such that there would be no longer a dependency on freedom of information inquiries by journalists to establish the facts? Surely this is one of the first reforms we should present at this time because, no matter what else one addresses in terms of so-called reform of the institution and its workings, this critical area is the single greatest issue in the minds of the people and we must come to terms with it. This is the only way it can be done and any objection to full accountability, scrutiny and verification is simply not on anymore. I strongly urge the Chief Whip to take on board this point concerning any proposals, and I trust any such proposals would come early in order that we could all agree and have such an approach adopted and implemented.

There was a proposal to abolish certain Oireachtas committees. Where does this stand? I take the view that the committee system with all its flaws, warts et al is still an important part of the workings of the Houses of the Oireachtas and I am not an advocate of the abolition of committees. Would the Chief Whip agree that a much better approach to reform in this area would be the cessation of special payments to the Chairs and convenors of committees? There would be savings in respect of the workings of the committees because all Chairs and convenors are already paid Members of the Houses and are, therefore, remunerated, as we all are, for our participation in committees. The most important thing to be protected is the important work of the committees. It should not be a case of paring by cutting off committees but of facing up to the fact that it is not justifiable for payments to continue to Chairs and convenors for their participation, which is no different from that of any other Member of the Dáil or Seanad in that process. The committees should be retained and they could be reviewed from time to time in terms of their relevance but, critically, the real issue in terms of reform is to get the situation in respect of expenses and payments correct such that the people can have confidence in the system operated within the Houses and with this institution and then notice would be taken of other reforms and other measures to ensure greater efficiencies in the future.

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