John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is appropriate that the House have discussions of this nature now and again. Given that most debates consist of Second Stage speeches on legislation, it is no harm to have a discussion on the political priorities of the Government or Opposition from time to time. It is obvious from the benches opposite, however, that the Opposition does not have many priorities this afternoon.

I will echo some of the comments made by previous speakers. Deputy English raised the difficulty experienced by one of this constituents who is involved in construction and can no longer tender for small school building or infrastructural projects because the thresholds pertaining to turnover have been changed. This is a significant problem and I am sure every Deputy will be aware of similar cases in their constituencies. Viable and successful businesses, which have done substantial work on infrastructural projects over the years, are being prevented from tendering for works, including relatively small projects, because their turnover falls below a threshold that has been set at a very high level. These companies may end up doing the work in any case as they are often subcontracted at a later date by the company that wins the tender. This issue must be addressed, especially as the Government is set to make an announcement on infrastructure and the construction sector a couple of weeks from now.

I also echo some of the sentiments expressed by Deputy Lawlor on the procedures of the Oireachtas. Changing the manner in which the Dáil and Seanad do their business should be a Government priority. The Government has correctly prioritised a number of reforms in the economy, judicial system and health system, including the manner in which the Health Service Executive and Department of Health operate. It has not, however, fundamentally altered the way in which the Oireachtas, specifically the Dáil, carries out its business. I was taken by comments made by Deputy Charles Flanagan last week on a number of changes that should be made. The Deputy made a strong case for the establishment of a firmly independent Office of the Ceann Comhairle. He called for the Ceann Comhairle to be elected by Members because under the current system he or she is elected in theory only because the nomination is made from another quarter.

He also recommended the introduction of a well-resourced parliamentary legal office. While we do have legal supports in the Oireachtas, they are over-stretched. If we want a strong committee system that works properly then that parliamentary legal office needs to be resourced accordingly to fulfil its function.

With regard to the daily business of this House and the Order of Business, it is often said that one should not ask a question to which one does not know the answer. Most days the Order of Business in this House is ridiculous in terms of Members often raising constituency issues which have a tenuous link with forthcoming legislation. Like me, the Minister of State, Deputy Brian Hayes, and Acting Chairman, Deputy Tuffy, are former Members of the Seanad where the Order of Business operates differently and is much more topical in terms of matters that are urgent on a particular day. There is an argument to be made for improving and greatly altering how the Order of Business in this House operates.

On the improved economic situation of the country, the main issues during the last general election was the economy and jobs. For the first time in six years, we are now seeing significant economic improvements and a significant decrease in the number of people unemployed. This is not down to emigration alone, as it may well have been during the early days in office of this Government. More than 60,000 jobs have been created to date. I was sickened to hear former Cabinet Minister, Deputy O'Dea say on national television, and re-echoed in this House yesterday by Deputy Ó Cuív, that these jobs are imaginary or, more pointedly, that jobs created in the agriculture sector are not real jobs. During the past 12 months, there has been a significant improvement in employment in the agriculture and food sectors. Those jobs are real. Deputies O'Dea and Ó Cuív should, perhaps, speak to people in their constituencies of Limerick and Galway who work in the agriculture and food sectors, which people know that those jobs are real.

I commend the Minister for Finance and the Minister of State, Deputy Brian Hayes, on yesterday's progress by the National Treasury Management Agency in auctioning off €1 billion worth of bonds at an unprecedentedly low bond yield rate, which is indicative of the significant progress which this Government has made in terms of our funding ourselves into the future, which was a core part of the argument on which the last general election was fought.

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