Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)

I welcome the opportunity given by the Labour Party to deal with matters relating to political reform and Dáil reform. When I read the motion I was surprised. I suppose I should not be surprised that we agree so much on these matters. The motion was very similar to a document I published myself in the last year. I suppose the best form of flattery is imitation. I welcome the fact that the Labour Party and Fine Gael are very much in agreement regarding the tone and tenor of the essential requirements to ensure that this House works more efficiently and well in the interests of the people and that the political system, at local government and national level, is changed radically to ensure that we no longer have the same political decision making processes as we have at the moment.

The centralised system of government perpetrated on us by Fianna Fáil Governments, particularly under the leadership of Deputy Bertie Ahern, is something Fianna Fáil would find difficult to change. The communist-type centralist approach of handing down edicts from the central executive and treating the Dáil as lobby fodder without meaningful input into policies and decision making is something that Fianna Fáil have brought to a fine art over the years.

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