Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I have raised the following with the Minister before but do not want to get into a row about it this evening. Question Time is being abused by the approach the Government parties are taking. The House would be better served if the Minister made statements on decisions he has taken. The way questions have been phrased - there appears to be a level of uniformity across the board - allows Deputies to come to the House to clap the Minister on the back on decisions he has already taken. My understanding of Question Time is that its purpose is to elicit information which is not already in the public domain. I ask the Minister to retain Question Time for new information as opposed to follow-up statements on policy decisions which have already been made. I am not seeking in any way to silence anybody. Of course, everybody must have the opportunity to intervene.

See this speech in context