Feargal Quinn (Independent)

Perhaps my example was a poor one. I will address the jargon of "laying" something before the Houses of the Oireachtas. Where do we lay these matters? We do not, as we put documents in the Oireachtas Library and send paper documents to every Member. It would be more sensible to lodge something in the Library and send it in electronic format to Members, who could lay their hands on the document if they so wished. It is essential to make this service available.

I want to convince the Minister of State that we are trying to bring democracy closer to the public. Many people in the community do not realise the amount of work carried out here. Part of our task is to make the people understand how much good work we do. One means of doing so is ensuring the information is available and getting people to understand the benefits of electronic communication.