Alex White (Labour)

If anything, the Minister of State's speech last night confirmed this as the view of the Government. It is clear on the basis of the outcome of the vote last night - the Leader must face up to this - that the Government and the Leader have lost the confidence of this House on the reform agenda. The Leader lost the vote on this important question. I asked him last week on the Order of Business to indicate one thing he had done in the course of the life of this Seanad to reform the procedures used. He told me he had introduced a procedure, whereby Ministers answered questions. He did not introduce it as it has been included in Standing Orders for many years. The fact is that he has achieved nothing in terms of procedural reform.