Brendan Griffin (Kerry South, Fine Gael)

As a new Deputy, I am still getting to know the procedures of the Dáil. Therefore, my contribution may be both negative and positive. I can contribute positively by offering a fresh outlook, but the negative side of it is that I have less than three months' experience here. I welcome the opportunity to speak on the issue and welcome the healthy mix of contributions so far from both new and more experienced Deputies.

I worked in a Deputy's office for a couple of years before becoming a Deputy, but since I was elected I have been struck by the huge amount of constituency work required of a Deputy. I am not complaining about this and my staff and I are very happy to assist any constituents who approach us with issues important to them. However, the work to be done curtails the amount of time a Deputy can spend on legislative and parliamentary work. We need to create a more general awareness of the work required of a parliamentarian and that more appropriate to other levels of government. It is not always possible politically to do that when approached by a constituent given that Deputies are in the privileged and honoured position to be able to assist the person. It is, however, something that needs to be looked at generally. There should be greater awareness of who does what and at what level. This would help give parliamentarians more time to focus on their specific work.

This is an issue that should be looked at. The case could be made that it is a matter for electoral reform. If we are to talk about Dáil reform, there must also be electoral reform to ensure that if reforms are put in place parliamentarians will have the time to engage more in Parliament.

One of the greatest tools we have as Deputies is the facility to table parliamentary questions, which is a great opportunity for Deputies to obtain fairly comprehensive information most of the time from Ministers on most topics. Unfortunately many of the parliamentary questions submitted relate to inquiries about individual entitlements and payments. That has been assisted by the establishment of information lines through various Departments. However, Deputies spend considerable time assisting with queries that really should be addressed by Departments and there should be no need for the constituent to approach the Deputy on such matters. This area needs to be rectified so that parliamentary questions can be kept for the more appropriate areas, for which they were originally designed.

Regarding oral questions, I believe that after priority questions are taken, answers should not be read in respect of questions submitted by Deputies who are not in the Chamber and the Minister should skip on to the next question submitted by a Deputy who is present. The skipped questions could then be answered in writing, which would encourage greater attendance for Question Time and would reward those Deputies who show an interest in attending the Chamber. It would also give a Deputy a chance to engage with a Minister on an issue of specific importance to that particular Deputy and would reduce the risk of losing out on questioning opportunity that applies with the current lottery system.

In the three months since my election I have had no experience of working on committees and so am limited in what I can say on the issue. However, a number of constituents have asked why committee chairmen receive payment on top of their salaries. Many people to whom I have spoken feel that serving as chair of a committee should be a privilege and should not require additional payment. This should be considered in the future.

Regarding the Whip system, I am conscious of the person behind whom I am standing. There is a strong argument for considering not applying the Whip on some issues that do not relate to financial issues or the election of Government. This would lead to a stronger democracy and would be a more pure form of representation. The system works well most of the time at local authority level and if it were introduced here, it might lead to a stronger Parliament.

I hope we can have a discussion on electoral reform soon. Many of the aspects of our work are impacted upon greatly by our electoral system and the impact of any Dáil reform would be greatly reduced unless it is coupled with electoral reform.

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