John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Iarraim ar an Taoiseach an tairiscint a dhéanamh.

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I move:

That, notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders, the proceedings on No. 2, nomination of members of the Government, shall be brought to a conclusion at 8.15 p.m. and the following arrangements shall apply:

(a) the speech of the Taoiseach and the Leader of the Fine Gael Party, the Labour Party and Sinn Féin, or a Member nominated in his or her stead, who shall be called upon in that order, shall not exceed 15 minutes in each case;

(b) the speech of each Member called upon shall not exceed ten minutes in each case;

(c) Members may share time;

(d) and a member of Government shall be called upon to make a speech in reply which shall not exceed five minutes.

John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Is the motion agreed?

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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It is not agreed. There are some changes but there is no real change about this. We have already lost 15 minutes from the appointed time at which this House was to reconvene and debate the members to be appointed to Government. Since the foundation of the State there have been eight occasions when the debate on the formation of a Government was of one, two or three days' duration. In some cases the motion was for four days, including the transfer of power from Charles Haughey to Albert Reynolds, and from the latter to John Bruton in 1994.

The allocation of time proposed by the Taoiseach, to 8.15 p.m., is insufficient. This country faces a whole range of issues and challenges, which Deputies on this side of the House want to debate in respect of the persons who are being either appointed or reappointed to Departments. Therefore, I respectfully propose an amendment to the Taoiseach's proposal that the discussion on the nomination of members of the Government conclude at 9.15 p.m. and that a vote be taken thereafter.

This is a reasonable request in view of the fact that this is not the appointment of a new Government, but the reappointment of persons who are already jaded and who have proven themselves to be failures in dealing with the many challenges the country faces.

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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Wishful thinking.

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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I support Deputy Kenny's proposal. What we are doing here concerning the election of a Government is a very important constitutional function whereby the elected Members — the 166 people who have been sent to this House by the people of the country — effectively transfer executive authority from the Dáil to the members of the Government. We have spent the last month paying tributes and giving congratulatory speeches, yet two hours is all the Taoiseach is proposing in order to debate the formation of this recycled Government.

Deputies:

Shame.

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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I therefore support Deputy Kenny's proposal that the time be extended by one hour. It is a reasonable request and one to which the new Taoiseach could readily agree.

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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I wish to support the other Opposition party leaders in an appeal to An Taoiseach to extend the time so as to allow a greater number of Members to comment on the announcement of a new Cabinet this evening. It would indicate a much more constructive way of moving forward if agreement could be presented by the new Taoiseach and his new Chief Whip to this reasonable request from the collective Opposition voices.

John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Ceann Comhairle)
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I must put the question concerning the amendment in the name of Deputy Kenny.

Dan Neville (Limerick West, Fine Gael)
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Let us hear from the Taoiseach.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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It is like Zimbabwe, a dictatorship.

John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Ceann Comhairle)
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As regards the amendment in the name of Deputy Kenny——

Dan Neville (Limerick West, Fine Gael)
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Shame.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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We still have a Parliament. They will not shut us up.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I advise the Ceann Comhairle that 15 minutes of Dáil time were lost before the Government came into the Chamber.

John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Ceann Comhairle)
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I must now——

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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That is a fact and we should continue until 8.30 p.m. in any event, because that time was not lost due to the action of the House.

John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Ceann Comhairle)
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I am sorry, Deputy Kenny, but I have strict procedures here. I must ask whether the main motion is agreed to.

Deputies:

Abuse of the House.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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In that context, some 15 minutes were lost because the Government was late coming in, whether because of traffic or whatever. The debate should then continue until 8.30 p.m. The 15 minutes were lost, not because of the House's actions, but owing to the Government's failure to come in on time. Is that 15 minutes being allowed now?

John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Ceann Comhairle)
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This is in the context of the main motion being agreed.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Yes, it is.

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I agree to that.

John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Ceann Comhairle)
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That is agreed.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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That is the first consensus from the new Taoiseach.