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

Nobody is restricting the Government backbenchers. I welcome some of the Minister's changes in terms of Dáil reform and the way the Houses of the Oireachtas are working but Government backbenchers now have as much of a role in the pre-legislative stage, for example, as anybody else.

They can attend committees, like every other Member of the House, they can publish legislation and have it debated on a par with myself, an Opposition spokesperson, and they can put oral questions. In fact, they probably have a greater chance of getting their oral questions selected than any Deputy other than a spokesperson-----

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