Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North-West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I intend to note at each Oral Questions session from now on the disproportionate, unbalanced and unfair priority which some parties in the House have to hold the Government to account, given the allocated amounts of time. I hope the Government and the Opposition will follow through on their words to allocate more time to people representing one of the largest groups in the House, namely, backbenchers. We have as much right to ask Priority Questions to our Ministers as anybody else in the House. I acknowledge the Tánaiste's appointment and that of the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, who was a healthy contributor on foreign affairs as a backbencher. It is great to see him in the post and I think he will have great grá for it.

My interest in this question dates back to the 1997 opportunity for peace, when Northern Ireland was going to join a world of prosperity and peace and a multinational rules-based order. Much of that has been eroded over the years and I am concerned about trade policy and how both trading blocks - the UK and the EU - may differ in the face of US tariffs.

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