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

As we see every day, the breakdown of normal relations within different strands of the peace settlement has caused deep damage. Irrespective of the form Brexit will take, we will need a new approach to relations with Britain. We also need a new approach to North-South relations. Given the problems even before June 2016, does the Taoiseach agree that we have to take a serious look at how the Government operates with respect to North-South and east-west relations? With the rapid decline in the level and quality of political leadership in these areas, does he accept that we need to ask whether we are approaching them in the right way? This must surely have implications for how the Department of the Taoiseach and the Taoiseach operate. A core function of the Department of the Taoiseach is to operate a system of Cabinet committees. The committees are supposed to involve much greater levels of preparation and longer discussions than are possible at a full Cabinet meeting. The committee dealing with European affairs used to meet regularly. The meetings involved detailed cross-government discussion of measures before the European Council. Last week it was revealed that the committee on Brexit and Europe had not met for seven months. That means that there have been no meetings with senior officials, no advance circulation of detailed documents and no separate minutes. The Taoiseach's claim that he prefers to discuss things at full Cabinet meetings suggests he prefers general discussions to getting into the level of detail which used to be involved in Cabinet sub-committee meetings.

Equally, it appears that the Cabinet committees on health and infrastructure have been sidelined on the vital issue of the massive overspend on the national children's hospital, which is quite extraordinary. It is an unfolding saga. The replies to Deputy Howlin's questions beggared belief and lacked credibility. The overspend on the project will have implications for other capital projects across the board, not just this year but also in future years. Will the Taoiseach outline how the background work which used to happen through the Cabinet committees is now done? If committees are not dealing with the major strategic challenges, why do they exist? If the committee on health is not dealing with the national children's hospital, what is it doing? Likewise, if the committee on Europe has not met for seven months, why does it exist?

See this speech in context