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

It was appropriate that we had a minute's silence in the Dáil yesterday and statements from all parties on the appalling atrocity in Paris. However, I do not believe the Government should have taken the decision to remove all other items of business from the schedule, in particular, the Order of Business, Leaders' Questions, Taoiseach's Questions and Topical Issues. All of these items should still have been facilitated in yesterday's sitting. The Dáil could have sat earlier. After all, the Cabinet meeting adjourned earlier in order to make announcements on school buildings and so on.

The point I wish to make is that there has been an ongoing approach to Dáil business which seems to ensure there will be as little accountability as possible on the Government side. The Dáil sat for five days in September, for only ten days in October and there will probably be a few late night sittings in December to guillotine the debates on and ram through legislation. The Taoiseach stands accused of making the Dáil a plaything, something to be undermined. This has been ongoing for a number of years, but the situation has been particularly acute since May. We have had one day sitting weeks and two sitting day weeks after a bank holiday. The Taoiseach is demeaning and undermining the Dáil-----

See this speech in context