Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Independent) | Oireachtas source

No doubt we will continue to debate this matter. However, it is a bit like coming to a meeting of the flat earth society. One comes in here and everybody says, "No, it has to be done this way, it couldn't possibly happen any other way". When one says that it happens successfully in this "impossible" way in other parliaments, we are told: "No, it couldn't possibly work. There'd be chaos. All the debate has to happen within the parties and away from the public."

Heaven forbid that in our national parliament Deputies in the same party would be allowed to disagree with each other. The reality is that the current rules, which give an Irish Cabinet more control over Parliament than in any other developed country, suit whoever comes into power. The Minister spent a long time in opposition and railed against a lot of these things. The programme for Government aimed to get rid of the guillotine system, but once in power the Government chose to keep it. In fact, it is being used three times today because it is useful. They use it on all the sensitive Bills because it is useful. When a Government gets into power, Ministers consider that this level of control is pretty useful. They quite like it and want to keep it.

On national radio recently, the Government Chief Whip described the Government's efforts at political reform as deplorable. The result is that nobody trusts us. The Irish people trust us less than virtually anyone else in the developed world trusts their politicians. That is because they know, when they are listening to Government Deputies, or Opposition Deputies in parties, that they are not necessarily hearing what those people believe. On radio and television, and in here, I have debated issues with good Government backbenchers. I have listened to them discuss points, although before the debate they have told me they do not agree with them. Yet they have to toe the line and say that I am completely wrong. That is the way it is. They know they are not representing their own views. The people are not stupid and they know it as well.

The Minister's argument is that the Government will do the right thing if there is an overwhelming demand from the people, but what happens if there is not an overwhelming demand? What happens if it is a really important issue that we in the House know should be investigated, but the public do not really care about it because it is boring and technical? The Government will not investigate these things.

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