Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I am not sure which absurdity to oppose first but I will start with the Government allowing itself another two weeks to avoid Dáil scrutiny, not answer questions and not be held to account in the traditional manner of this Parliament. The public will simply not stand for it. It is ludicrous and was opposed in the Business Committee.

We need to demonstrate a little bit of leadership here. We all know the issues. The front of The Irish Times this morning tells us that Trump has removed the United States from international tax agreements. Is that not something the House should be able to discuss and understand? We are told that Ministers need time to settle into their briefs. That may be the case but we have a Taoiseach, a soon-to-be Taoiseach, a Tánaiste and a soon-to-be Tánaiste who are part of the programme for Government. Why can we not ask questions? When can we talk to the expected Minister for Finance about what our position is following events in America? It is absolutely ludicrous.

The arrangements for the new Dáil technical groups undermine the very foundations of parliamentary democracy. The idea of parliamentary democracy is that governments make proposals, as the Government did with its programme for Government, and we present alternatives to them, if necessary. What the Government is doing now belies that very principle. It is unbecoming. We are off to an incredibly bad start in this Dáil. This is setting the tone for the next five years. That is from you, not from us. What we are asking for is that the basic tenets of democracy are upheld here. Instead, we have the Government wishing that people who developed their own programme for Government correct their homework. It is absolutely despicable.

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