Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour) | Oireachtas source

In the lifetime of this Government we have made a number of very significant changes to the way in which the Dáil operates, for example the amount of time that is spent, the introduction of ways in which Members of the House can introduce legislation, the operation of committees and the legislation the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Howlin, has recently introduced to provide for parliamentary inquiries. We have more to do in reforming the House, but it is not just about the procedures, the formal rules and so on. It is also about the way in which Members use the House.

There is a responsibility on every elected Member of Dáil Éireann to make the best possible use of Dáil time, Dáil procedures, committees and so on to raise the issues that matter to people to make the House much more relevant to the lives of people outside the House. That is a responsibility that we all share. Discussion on Dáil reform is an issue to which we can return and I would be very happy to do so after the break.

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