Michael McCarthy (Labour)

I agree with the point raised by Senator Brian Hayes on the recent judgment by the Supreme Court, which has significant ramifications for the traditional relationship between parliamentarians and their constituents. The vital link between parliamentarians and their constituents must be preserved and this Supreme Court judgment must be debated in this House.

The six-week recess has taken away from the very good work carried out by both Houses of the Oireachtas. Members work extremely hard at constituency level and as legislators in this House and it is a pity to see a six-week recess detract from this work. It disguises much of the hard work that has been carried out. The recess was not a holiday; we worked very hard in our constituencies. I am aware that the Leader had a particularly gruelling six weeks and I congratulate her on coming out on the right side of it. It is important to debate this issue. House sittings must be connected to other parliaments in western Europe which have much longer sittings and are perceived to work harder by the public. We work just as hard as other parliamentarians in western Europe but the recess gives politics a bad name and adds to existing cynicism about politics.