Thomas Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I was not at that meeting. I have a problem because I am a Member of Seanad Éireann and the Constitution requires that this House regulate its own affairs yet the Chief Whip of Dáil Éireann is coming in here and more or less giving us our riding orders on our own Standing Orders. That is a gross interference in the House. I think it is unprecedented. Standing Orders are a matter for us.

I do not propose to vote against this motion. It gives the lie to the idea that this is an independent inquiry by the Oireachtas. It is not. The Government is telling each House what to do. This is particularly acute in the case of the Seanad. There was a referendum last October in which the people voted to keep Seanad Éireann. They want it as a check on the Dáil. They would be absolutely shocked to see the Chief Whip of Dáil Éireann coming in here to tell us what to do. That is a constitutional-----