Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the publication of this report. I commend the work of the Dáil reform sub-committee and thank all the members for their work, including the Sinn Féin representatives, Teachta Aengus Ó Snodaigh and Teachta Louise O'Reilly. I also want to thank the Ceann Comhairle for his stewardship of the sub-committee and its work over the past eight weeks. For the record, I agree absolutely with the remarks made by Teachtaí Seán Crowe and Pearse Doherty. Sinn Féin has advocated reform of the Dáil for many years and I am glad that some practical steps are now being taken to address long-standing issues.

The proposal that the Ceann Comhairle should be empowered to rule on the relevance of an oral reply from a Minister is particularly relevant, given this week's point-blank refusal by the Tánaiste to answer important and very appropriate questions about how she holds or does not hold the Garda Commissioner to account over issues arising from the O'Higgins report. The proposed reforms will contribute to a more responsive and relevant Dáil that will, hopefully, be allowed to adequately deliberate and deliver solutions to the real issues of concern for the citizens who sent us here. They will, I hope, go some way to addressing the deficit that we, as legislators, have faced in trying to ensure that legislative proposals are discussed in a democratic fashion.

As I have said before, however, much more is required if Dáil reform is to be really meaningful. The provision of Northern representation here is something everyone should be supportive of and it should be considered in the next round of matters to be considered by the reform sub-committee. The practice of excluding the introduction of money Bills from the Opposition also needs to be revised and Dáil committees should be afforded the means of introducing legislation.

While changes to Standing Orders and procedures are welcome and will obviously assist us collectively in our work, the reform of the institution more generally, in particular, doing away with some of the more archaic and antiquated practices, is equally, if not more, important. We want to make this Parliament more transparent and citizen-friendly - truly, a people's parliament. That means undertaking a serious review in this place of work of the operation of two bars in Leinster House which function without the normal licensing requirements. It is quite a bizarre situation, apparently covered because we have privilege. This does not take into account the need of ushers and other staff to have proper terms and conditions. The staff here also need to be consulted in all of these matters - the catering staff, the bar staff, the ushers and the others who do a great job, some of whom have been here longer than many of us. They too need to be included in reforming this institution because it is, after all, their workplace.

We have an unacceptable situation with regard to media facilities, which are equally antiquated, given the reporting and consumption of news has changed dramatically in recent years. There are no modern or appropriate media facilities for interviewing Oireachtas Members, particularly backbenchers and Opposition Teachtaí Dála, or for press conferences and other media work.

The media should be afforded the means of reporting in as professional and modern a way as possible from these quarters in order that citizens know what is happening.

It is welcome that the Ceann Comhairle has committed to dealing with some of these outstanding matters in the time ahead and that all of these issues will continue to be open for review, discussion and change.

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