Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is not agreed. This is now the sixth week where the Dáil is sitting for half its usual hours. Normally the Dáil sits 33 or 34 hours a week, on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, and we are sitting for half that time. That means we have no Taoiseach's questions, no Ministers' questions and instead of three Private Members' slots for dealing with legislation we have one. Topical issues, Questions on Promised Legislation and Leaders' Questions have been reduced. This is intolerable for the Opposition and intolerable that this continues. To add insult to injury, for the second time in three weeks we have no opportunity for statements and questions to the Minister for Health on the public health response and the vaccine roll-out, which is the very reason we are reduced to half our normal time. It is intolerable and this has to change. The Government will produce a schedule to the Business Committee tomorrow. According to the report of the Business Committee, the Opposition has registered its dissent for the third week in a row.

The Government is not listening to the Opposition. It is preventing the Opposition from doing its job in this democracy, which is to introduce legislation and hold Government to account. That has to stop this week.

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