Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I fully understand that Members of this House are away on business frequently and I respect that. I further respect the elected Members of this House in the way they participate and their dedication to this House.

I have sometimes sat here for a number of hours waiting to make my contribution, only to depend on the generosity of the Chair or another Member to share speaking time. Sometimes I have been told there is no time left as happened, for example, during the debate on the budget last week. I will be writing to the Committee on Procedure and Privileges today to request an urgent review of how speaking time is allocated in this Chamber. I will be asking how a group, the Independent group in this case, can refuse membership to one who attends the Chamber while granting membership to absentees, some of whom are rarely seen in this Chamber. I will be writing to An Taoiseach, as the leader of the Government, to ask him what briefing-----