Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is clear that we will not get that opportunity now. There has been no contact to suggest that we will; our Whip has been told that it will be after the budget. Again, that shows the undermining of Parliament and the fact that it is a peripheral body to what is happening in terms of policy formulation. Will the Taoiseach elaborate as to when we will have a debate on the fiscal council's report?

On the national cultural institutions Bill, we have had huge difficulty, as the Taoiseach knows, with the appointment of a person to the board of the Irish Museum of Modern Art. Will the Taoiseach indicate whether the Government is prepared to allow the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht to come before the Dáil to answer questions on that specific issue and to make a statement on it? It is extraordinary that on an issue that has commanded so much public attention the Minister has not been in a position to come before this House.

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