Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)

I welcome the opportunity to speak on Dáil reform in the Chamber. It is very important not only for this side of the House but for all sides and it has been discussed at a number of Whips' meetings. We had a similar debate and statements on the committee structure during which I thought some very meaningful contributions were made which we were able to take into account when we established the committee structure.

Radical reform of our system of Government will involve changes at constitutional, political and Dáil level. The programme for Government sets out an ambitious and comprehensive programme for Oireachtas reform. Dáil reform has been an issue which many Governments have discussed over a number of years, but little in the way of reform has actually been achieved. This Government will be different. We propose a radical reform of the way the Dáil operates to make it fit for purpose in the 21st century.

The House has two primary functions, namely, to legislate and to scrutinise the work of the Government of the day. The proposals which the Government will put forward for Dáil reform will address both of these. While the Government will play its part in bringing forward appropriate proposals, it will be incumbent on the other parties and all Members in the House and to play their part in reforming and modernising Dáil procedures. Reform of Dáil procedures is essentially one for the House itself which, under the Constitution, has responsibility for making its own rules and Standing Orders.

The programme for Government plans to increase the number of Dáil sitting days by 50%. The length of Dáil breaks at Christmas, Easter, after bank holidays and during the summer will be reduced to help achieve this target. This year, although the Government had only been appointed the previous week, the Dáil met in St. Patrick's week which has never happened before. This initial statement of intent of the new Government was followed up by the Dáil having a shorter Easter recess and bank holiday breaks being removed. In the weeks to come, we will see the Dáil take a vastly reduced summer recess.

The programme for Government also proposes to introduce a four day sitting week. Friday sittings would be used to take committee reports and Private Members' business, except where urgent Government business might be required. Friday sittings may also see the use of the Dáil Chamber for committees. This is important as the excellent work carried out by committees is all too often ignored for the more dramatic exchanges that tend to take place in the Dáil. Moving some committee meetings to the Dáil Chamber may help increase the profile of the work they carry out.

The Government is currently in the process of concluding the final touches to the radical reforms that need to be introduced to improve the Oireachtas committee system. The new system will break with the committee system of the previous Government where committees were sidelined instead of being seen as a central working element of the Oireachtas. We will have fewer committees but they will be focused on detailed work programmes. Deputies will be on fewer committees and will have more time to meet the demands and opportunities that the new focused committees will provide.

We will establish an investigations, oversight and petitions committee to provide a channel of consultation and collaboration with the Ombudsman and to manage a new public petitions system for redress of grievances relating to public administration or services. This committee is a new and welcome addition to the committee system.

For the new committee system to work, the committees need to have real functioning powers and a committed membership. The Constitution will be amended to give Oireachtas committees full powers of investigation. The Abbeylara Supreme Court decision currently limits the ability of committees to hold investigations into crucial issues of public concern and we will hold a referendum to correct this. Such a change will see the Oireachtas committees given the powers they need to do the job they are asked to do.

The vast majority of Deputies in all parties and none want to contribute in a meaningful way to the running of this country and serve the Irish people. The radically reformed new committee structure will give Deputies and Senators that opportunity.

The current system of oral and written parliamentary questions will be reformed to meet the needs of Deputies more effectively. The programme for Government proposes to increase the time allocated to oral parliamentary questions but reduce the number of parliamentary questions being submitted to one per Member and the Member must be in Chamber when the parliamentary question is reached but may defer the right to other Members to ask supplementary questions and to give the Ceann Comhairle a role in deciding whether a Minister has failed to provide reasonable information in response to a parliamentary question.

The extensive over-use of the guillotine to ram through non-emergency legislation as in the last Dáil will be cutback so legislation can be debated in full. The over-use of the guillotine in the last Dáil was one of the great frustrations for Deputies of all parties because they were denied the opportunity to have their voices heard on vital issues passing through this House. However, there will be occasions when the guillotine will have to be used. As Chief Whip, I will try to reduce them to a minimum because all legislation should be debated in full and all Deputies should have the opportunity to contribute, whether they are in favour or against the legislation going through the House. Next week we will have to guillotine a Bill and it will be up to the Whips to reach agreement on it, although Deputies opposite may oppose it and push it to a vote.

A petition system to the Dáil will be established similar to that operating in the European Parliament to be managed by a specific committee. The Adjournment debate format will be updated, renamed the topical issue debate and moved to a more suitable time on the Dáil timetable. This new system will allow Deputies to raise issues of concern in the Dáil and to be provided with a more comprehensive reply from the Government. Deputies should be allowed to ask supplementary questions. Under the current system, a Deputy makes a five minute contribution while the Minister gives a five minute reply. There is no provision for a Deputy to ask a supplementary question. It is very important that the current system is totally overhauled and that a Deputy has the opportunity to ask a supplementary question. Members opposite and the party Whips have very strong views on that and it can be worked on.

While the Government will drive the process of Dáil reform, it is a shared responsibility of all the parties in the House. Through their Whips, the parties and the Technical Group have the opportunity to work out common positions on a range of issues, including Dáil reform, with the Government so that as a House we can embrace the idea of Dáil reform in a way that is as far removed from party politics as possible.

I, along with the deputy Chief Whip, Deputy Stagg, have been in discussions with the three Opposition Whips regarding the introduction of a number of wide-ranging Dáil reform proposals. Those discussions have been frank, open and useful. It is clear from them that we have agreement across the political divide on the need for Dáil reform.

The Government wants to work with the Opposition to set out the details of the changes we need to introduce to meet the shared responsibility we have to reform the Dáil. We are determined to see real Dáil reform early in this Dáil and not have a repeat of the past where plans for Dáil reform were discussed for months only to be left sitting on a shelf.

This Government is committed to significantly reducing the size of the Oireachtas. In response to the recent census results, which will be published shortly, the Government will establish a boundary commission which will review the new census and address the issue of the number of Deputies in this House.

When, as leader of the Opposition, the Taoiseach spoke about the abolition of Seanad Éireann, it resulted in much debate not only within the confines of the Oireachtas but outside it. A single Chamber Parliament would create a Parliament that is more effective, efficient and in tune with our democratic ideals. Sweden, Denmark and New Zealand have all abolished their second houses to create single chamber parliaments. When the Taoiseach announced the proposal to abolish the Seanad, there was opposition from other parties but within 18 months, they were all singing from the same hymn sheet. I have no doubt the proposal will be debated in full when the legislation comes before the House in advance of a referendum.

In the course of the contributions from Deputies today, we will see the concept of shared responsibility for Dáil reform embraced in full with suggestions and recommendations and I welcome this. It is nice to see new Members of the House put forward their ideas. I have been a Member of the House for the past nine years and one can get caught up in the runnings of it but it is refreshing to see new Members. If new Members believe there are other ways to have more meaningful debate, I would be very open to their ideas. Today's statements provide an opportunity for members of political parties and Independents to come forward with their ideas and share them with us. The Whips are a responsible group and we want to put together the best reform proposals. I hope to have a package of reforms ready to change standing orders before the conclusion of this session so they will be up and running when we return after the summer recess.

These changes will ensure a far stronger Parliament where different groups and organisations will be held to account, which they have not been in the past. We have drastically reduced the number of committees. In the last Dáil some Deputies were members of two or three committees. They often had to race from one meeting to another and barely had time to review agendas let alone examine the issues being discussed. They were there for the sake of numbers rather than to enhance the quality of debate. Confining Deputies to membership of one committee means they will have a greater focus on the issues arising in that committee. I look forward to the contributions of Members opposite and on this side of the House with a view to ensuring we have a better debating Chamber.

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