Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I mean no disrespect to the Minister of State, but at a meeting of the Committee on Procedure and Privileges yesterday an issue was raised that is becoming more and more frequent, namely that a line Minister does not come in here and does not satisfy the Senator who is raising a Commencement Matter or is putting a Minister who is not a line Minister on the spot. Something will have to be done about this.

It is sometimes acceptable if a Minister is tied up, but more often than not it is now the case that a line Minister does not come to the House. I am not sure what we are going to do about that but some action will have to be taken. I ask the Minister of State to convey that message to others because I can see a day where we will close down on this issue until such time as some respect is shown for the House, in particular to Senators who raise matters. I will allow the Senator half a minute.