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

Yesterday, we had a discussion with the Taoiseach about Cabinet committees and he managed to provide almost zero detail on how these new cumbersome committees will work apart from the fact there will be a constantly changing membership. The idea that the old committees had to be abolished because too many were attending – I think the Taoiseach said there were up to 30 or 40 – is ridiculous because the Taoiseach has it in his power to say only so many should attend and keep it streamlined, as was once the case. There is a serious concern that this new setup will reduce transparency and co-ordination by rolling a wide range of issues into the one committee. Up to the present we could at least judge the level of activity on health and judicial reform and other areas by seeing the number of meetings which these committees held. Under the new arrangements, even this small amount of information will not be available. The number of my questions that have been transferred by the Taoiseach's office or submitted for disqualification has expanded fairly dramatically in the past three weeks. Once these committees are in operation, what level of detail will the Taoiseach be willing to provide to the House on their agendas, activity and the substance of their discussions?

It is important that a Cabinet committee on the arts be established. I disagree fundamentally with Deputy Boyd Barrett on his criticisms of previous Governments. They did not dominate. They were elected in a parliamentary democracy. One of our enduring legacies to the nation was that during the rise of fascism, we managed to produce a republican constitution in 1937 when the rest of Europe was going fascist. The Deputy should never forget that.

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