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

When the old system of Cabinet committees was changed and replaced with, allegedly, much broader mandates, we were told this was to enable a more dynamic and active role from the committees. The opposite seems to have happened. I agree with Deputy Howlin that the reality is that many of the committees meet rarely. It cannot be argued that the Cabinet committees play any substantive role in moving policy forward. If one looks at two critical issues, health and broadband, there is no evidence that the relevant committees have made any impact. They have only met several times this year.

The last time he was challenged on this, the Taoiseach said he liked to raise issues at full Cabinet meetings. That would mean brief and limited papers being prepared, as well as brief discussions. There would be none of the more detailed discussions which were the norm with Cabinet sub-committees of the previous genre. Previously, there would have been a full afternoon on a particular topic.

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