Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I call the Seanad to order. Although not everyone is present, I have a couple of suggestions because as it happened yesterday, the Order of Business was cumbersome in many ways and went on for too long. While we must sort it out in the Committee on Procedure and Privileges, I suggest the Order of Business should not last for more than one hour. I am simply thinking out loud and I am not dictating or imposing or anything like that, but I have a notion regarding the rota of speakers. The leader from each group, for example, would be a speaker each day but then, because Fine Gael is the biggest, the Government side might have at least four speakers with the Leader, and then perhaps three speakers with the leader for Fianna Fáil and different groups. Moreover, these could rotate if someone has something to say. At present, the leaders have three minutes to speak and perhaps by readjusting, the leaders would have four minutes on some important issues about which people are passionate. People could rotate and Members would curtail it to have a more streamlined and focused Order of Business rather than having everyone hopping up and down or whatever. While my style is not to stymie any debate, at the same time, had there been a Minister waiting in the ante-room yesterday with important legislation, he or she would not have been happy with me for having, as we would say in west Cork, a leadránach Order of Business. That said, I will now ask the Leader to outline the business for today.