Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I have welcomed positive changes to Standing Orders since I was appointed my party's Whip in 2002. I am one of the longer serving Whips in the House. In that time I have tried to engage positively with and come to consensual agreement on any package any Government has introduced to make the workings of the House better, make it more accountable and reflective of society. I have acknowledged the changes made in the last round of Dáil reforms as being positive. This package also has some positive elements, which I accept.

It must be remembered we are Teachtaí Dála, messengers from our constituencies. We have a dual role as legislators, as well as working with our constituents and their representative organisations. We must be careful to ensure we do not burden Deputies with unrealistic timeframes. Some of the pressure coming from the media is aimed at trying to get us to sit here from 9 a.m. to midnight. Even if we were to do this, it would not suit some on the outside. We need to ensure we fulfil both of our duties. These roles were confirmed for us recently at the Constitutional Convention when its citizen members agreed that Deputies had a role to reflect and work with them. This is being eroded somewhat by these proposals.

Behind some of the proposals I have made, I recognise there is a need to make the Dáil, political institutions and the Government more effective, accountable and transparent, while making it more workable for Members. I gave a draft copy of my reform proposals to the Chief Whip before being fully passed by my party to ensure he would row back on some of his proposals before they were put to the House. The sitting time every second Friday could be contained in the existing working week by extending the Tuesday sitting to cover the morning period. This would save not only money for the Houses but also provide more time for Members to spend in their constituencies. That proposal is contained in my amendment. Deputy Gerry Adams spoke earlier about having a sitting week devoted to dealing exclusively with proposals under the Good Friday Agreement that have not yet been implemented. It seems, however, that the Government wants to give over another two weeks to discuss EU matters.

The Dáil reform committee endorsed the first package of reforms some time ago. This package, however, was put to the committee as a fait accompli. No consensus was reached on it and it will be put to the House today without a proper discussion with Members or the staff. These changes are expected to take effect in two weeks time. That is a significant change in how this House works. The implications for human resources have not been fully worked out and it could lead to chaos. In my amendment I suggest these reforms should have a longer lead-in time and be introduced in January. This would give us a way to restructure our constituency arrangements, our offices in Leinster House and for the staff to change their lives around it.

Some of my proposals are positive. I have gone as far as accepting that speaking times should be reduced to allow more Members the opportunity to speak. I have suggested limits be placed on speaking time on Report Stage in order that we do not have, as Deputy emmet Stagg referred to, a discussion on the Title taking up much of the time for the debate. However, the Government has rejected these proposals that I have been making since 2002.

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