Thomas Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We look forward to more reform, including political reform. There was supposed to be all kinds of reform of the Dáil and the Seanad but it has not happened. The programme for Government promised that the Dáil would continue to sit during the Hallowe'en break. It stated that the Hallowe'en break would no longer be taken. Why was this promise put into the programme only to be ignored, as if it meant nothing? Surely that programme for Government is a solemn commitment between two parties in the interests of the people and the country. It seems that if something is inconvenient it can be moved away. The talk is there but I am not sure about the walk. Although we understand the difficulty for the Government, we believe more progress needs to be made. I welcome some of the measures proposed by the Minister. However, there are significant challenges and it is right that we raise these issues. There is too much talk of everything going fine. We hope everything is going fine but we must point out what is wrong.