John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)

As the Deputies will be aware, the Government established a working group on Dáil reform in 2009, comprising the Minister for Transport, Deputy Dempsey, the Minister for Justice and Law Reform, Deputy Dermot Ahern, Senator Dan Boyle and my predecessor as Government Chief Whip, the Minister for Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs, Deputy Pat Carey. Following a number of meetings, this group submitted a set of proposals to the Cabinet for discussion and agreement.

The proposals agreed by the Government were brought before the relevant forum of the Dáil Committee on Procedure and Privileges's sub-committee on Dáil reform. The proposals included longer Dáil terms, consolidating the time that the Taoiseach and Opposition leaders spend in the House, starting Dáil sittings earlier each day and ealing with promised legislation only once per week. The proposals addressed to a certain degree some of the issues which relate to the Dáil being perceived as not being family friendly and not reflecting the pressures which young parents experience in today's Ireland.

As the House will be aware, a general agreement and consensus was not possible on the proposals tabled by Government. In this context, I am continuing my engagement with the various party representatives on the sub-committee with a view to achieving the highest possible level of cross-party consensus on the proposals for the reform of Dáil procedures.

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