Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

Senator O'Toole outlined the volume of work members of the commission undertook. I was struck by his intervention in that regard. As the Government nominee on the commission it strikes me how often we hold meetings to address practical problems which arise. It illustrates how the commission has been of benefit. When members of Oireachtas staff had to deal directly with the Department of Finance they must have suffered a great deal of frustration as a clear focus for making decisions on the Oireachtas did not exist. One of the benefits of the commission is that it allows future planning of the Oireachtas to be done strategically.

Senator White raised a number of issues. With regard to making the Houses of the Oireachtas family friendly, the commission is the body which established the crèche for Members of the Oireachtas which is an important dimension of being family friendly.