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

The reason I tabled this question is that for the past five years the Taoiseach has been saying there would need to be reform of Taoiseach's questions and that he would bring proposals to the leaders of the Opposition. Of course, he never did that; he just kept saying it week after week. One of the first measures he took when he became Taoiseach was to halve the amount of time for Taoiseach's questions. He got rid of the Wednesday slot, so he reduced the accountability of the Taoiseach in respect of his Department and policy issues by 50%. Then, when Tuesday afternoon sessions were cancelled for a variety of reasons, they were never rescheduled. Suffice it to say that he is perhaps the most unaccountable Taoiseach we have had, certainly since I came into Dáil Éireann. He ducks and dives and avoids questions to an extraordinary degree both in the House and publicly elsewhere. It is extraordinary the degree to which he does not engage in public debate. I give him credit for managing the media well in terms of identifying the particular programmes he slinks onto. He has a particular penchant for the nine o'clock news-----

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