Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am delighted to speak about Dáil reform. Ar an gcéad dul síos, mo chomghairdeas a ghabháil don Cheann Comhairle. I thank the Ceann Comhairle and congratulate him on his stewardship of the sub-committee. I also congratulate the sub-committee which worked so hard. The reforms include more power for the Parliament to plan and make arrangements for its own business, with a new business committee comprising Government and Opposition Deputies who, together, will plan the business of the House on a weekly, sessional and yearly basis. It is very important that we will work together and that it will not be by diktat as happened for the past five years and all that went with it.

We will have better scrutiny of the annual budgetary cycle by a new budget oversight committee which will be supported by a new independent review committee. We need this as we do not have any access to this information. We are just given figures and told to table amendments which are then disallowed because of they would involve a cost to the Exchequer. It is hugely important that we get an explanation for this and that we are told the exact figures and costs.

There will also be an increased role for the Office of the Parliamentary Legal Adviser to allow it to assist backbench Members in drafting legislation and give advice on all legislation coming before the House. This is paramount. As an Opposition Member, in the past five years I have tabled five Private Members' Bills. We are left on our own with no assistance. In fairness, the Bills Office is helpful, but after that one is on one's own. On one occasion we brought a Bill before the House, but it was rubbished by the former Minister, Mr. Alan Shatter. I had asked his officials about it but did not get any help. Sin scéal eile. It is very important that these resources are made available in dealing with Private Members' Bills, particularly in this new session because the Government cannot reject them just because of from where or who they come.

The rules on groupings will be changed to allow more than one technical group to be formed. This will enable Independent Deputies and members of small parties to join forces. This is vital. There was a technical group in the previous Dáil and the Dáil before that, but it is welcome that uimhir a cúig is the magic number of Members who can form a technical group. If they can double that number to a deich, they will have a stronger group, but five is a reasonable number and we could not have it any smaller than this.

We will have a rearrangement of sitting times and sitting days. It was vital that this was examined for many reasons, including that we did not waste time. I remember the first time I was here, six or seven years ago, running from committee to committee and back to the Chamber. It is very important that our time be spent more constructively and that we can give time to committees. Members are now expected to be on only one committee; I hope one in which they will be interested and on which they want to be. Committees will be much more powerful and will benefit from this.

Pre-legislative scrutiny will be extended to non-Government Bills, which will increase the possibility of Bills being enacted. This is very important with reference to what I said earlier.

A new Irish language committee will be established. Tá sé sin go hiontach. We need something like this and need it to be meaningful and begin at a base level. Cuirim fáilte roimh an rud sin.

Members will have a facility to formally record their abstention from voting, an option which was not previously available, and state the reason. This is very important. We will have another button to press and it will be like a set of traffic lights, with red, green and orange lights. If Members cannot vote for a Bill but do not want to oppose it outright, they can abstain and explain their reasons, which will be included in the Official Report. This is important because often one is asked why one is an abstentionist. I hate being an abstentionist, but it will give Members latitude. If they are not happy with certain aspects and cannot have amendments accepted, rather than vote against a Bill, they can abstain. This reflects modern day thinking and is reflective of the sincerely held views of many people who might have an issue about which they are passionate.

The sitting hours will be more family friendly. It is proposed to hold a great many votes on Thursday afternoon. I welcome the first aspect of this, about making it more family friendly, particularly for parents who have small children, but I am concerned about banking all votes to take place on a Thursday evening. Will it allow too much latitude for the Government of the day to have its troops here for just one session in order to vote?

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