Darragh O'Brien (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Yes. I ask the Leader to jump in at any stage. It could be good not to have a Minister present in order that we can have a proper interactive discussion. The Leader should feel free to jump in. We should consider providing more time whereby Members can bring forward their own legislation. While I acknowledge the intention behind these debates, the Topical Issues debate format in the Dáil does not work as it should. Perhaps we can improve on that in order that a Member can bring forward his or her own legislation. My party could have ten or 12 Bills in preparation but we have to wait for our private members' slot to introduce them and have them debated. I am not sure whether there is an impediment to us in Standing Orders to increasing the number of opportunities Members have. For example, we could pick a Thursday or a Friday or a few days a month where Members could introduce their legislation or the time for its introduction could be shortened. Will the Leader consider this?

I wholeheartedly agree with him about committees and the primacy of the Order of Business and the business of the House generally.