Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The culmination of 14 meetings of the Dáil reform committee has led to the proposal regarding Standing Orders that will affect the main changes agreed by the committee. It was a pleasure to serve on that committee with a very diverse group of Deputies from across the House with different political backgrounds and different views on issues but all were focused on bringing about much needed and long awaited reform. It shows how well the committee worked that only once was it actually divided by way of a vote. I am not completely happy with everything in it, if I am to be honest, but there are significant changes proposed: the establishment of the budget oversight committee, an independent budgetary office established on a statutory basis; the office of independent parliamentary legal advice, again established on a statutory basis; and by fixing of the mess of the committees of the last Dáil and Seanad by making the committees sectoral and aligned to Government Departments and restricted to membership of 11 - seven Deputies and four Senators - so the committees will not have membership of 29 and 30 people where members cannot contribute properly. It will afford a much better representation of how the public voted in the general election to ensure that legislation can be passed from the Government or the Opposition side and that Bills will now no longer be allowed to die on the vine after passing Second Stage. Bills will now have to get to the next stage within ten weeks of that passing. It is also important that the allocation of speaking time, oral and priority questions and Private Members' business is done on a proportionate basis to reflect the vote of the people in the last general election.

In the main I would support all the changes to Standing Orders that are proposed on behalf of Fianna Fáil. I will wait to see how one or two items actually work in practice. The Ceann Comhairle has said, as have many others at the reform committee meetings, that this is not the end of Dáil reform. The reform committee will meet next week and again at the end of this Dáil session before the summer recess. The committee will remain in place to ensure the reforms being brought forward are working and where they are not working that they will be changed. It is open to the committee, at a future stage, to propose further amendments to Standing Orders should that be desirable or required at the time. I am extremely pleased with most of the proposed changes that have been brought forward. It is now the job of Members to work within this new reality. The rules are now changed to allow us to do so and the mindset of all Members needs to change also in how we operate within this Dáil.

The Seanad met yesterday for the first day. It is important, and I have said this to the Ceann Comhairle, that Seanad reform is also required. The Oireachtas is not just the Dáil, it is the Dáil, Seanad and Uachtarán na hÉireann. The Seanad needs to be reformed and made further relevant. Fianna Fáil will support each of the Standing Orders as set out by the committee. I commend in particular the Ceann Comhairle on the efficient and inclusive manner in which he has chaired these meetings. I commend all of those who served on the committee. I found it to be a most interesting and, in the main, enjoyable experience. All of us know that the public want us to change the way we do business in the House and this report on Dáil reform and the changes being brought forward will bring us a step closer to that. However, we need to continue to ensure that we are committed to reform and to look at how the rules are working and where they are not working in order to change it. It is vitally important that the parliamentary legal advice office is staffed to its requirement as soon as possible to allow opposition Bills have the same weight as Government Bills and to be written and drafted to the same quality. Opposition Bills will pass through this Dáil and we have to ensure they stack up. That is a priority. The independent budgetary office is also a priority in order to change the way that our budget is formed and framed so it is not just one big hit in October and that the budget is more inclusive of all political views in the House.

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