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Deputy Finian McGrath:   Accountability? Dream on.
Deputy Emmet Stagg: Send any requests to the Opposition Whips.
An Leas-Cheann Comhairle: The Taoiseach has announced that for the second round of speakers the Member called shall not exceed 30 minutes in each case. Is that agreed?
Deputy Micheál Martin: Not agreed.
Deputy Barry Cowen: He proposed questions and answers as well.
Deputy Patrick O'Donovan: The Deputy was not here last week and neither was his Whip.
Deputy Micheál Martin: The reason this has been proposed is to get over a difficulty and problem which emerged this morning, and the lack of preparation by the Government side for this debate is evident-----
The Taoiseach: On the contrary.
Deputy Micheál Martin: -----in the way it wants to organise this block by block, in other words to dilute the capacity of each Opposition party-----
Deputy Jerry Buttimer: Deputy Martin was not here for half of last week.
Deputy Micheál Martin: -----to have its 20 minutes-----
Deputy Jerry Buttimer: The Opposition missed half a debate last week.
Deputy Emmet Stagg: Everything Fianna Fáil asked for was granted.
Deputy Micheál Martin: No it was not.
An Leas-Cheann Comhairle: Please.
Deputy Emmet Stagg: Everything Fianna Fáil asked for was granted.
Deputy Micheál Martin: Deputy Stagg was not even party to it but he is such a merciful person.
Deputy Emmet Stagg: Deputy Martin is trying to think of something else now he is on his feet.
An Leas-Cheann Comhairle: Deputy Stagg please.
Deputy Micheál Martin: He is all mercy and generosity. We all know about it.
All I want to say is there were issues about speaking slots all morning. The Government side did not know how to order the state of affairs. I know the Ceann Comhairle's office had its views on the options for former members of Fine Gael with regard to speaking priorities and each party getting a block of time to respond.
Deputy Patrick O'Donovan: What about Finian?
Deputy Jerry Buttimer: What about Mattie?
Deputy Micheál Martin: In essence what the Government proposed was a fragmented position for the Opposition whereby each speaker from the various parties would have seven minutes. It was very unacceptable from our perspective.
The whole week is a farce. The idea the Dáil should have to spend three days backslapping the Government is a farce and ridiculous.
Deputy Ray Butler: It would not have happened in Deputy Martin's time.
Deputy Micheál Martin: The Government does not have legislation to bring forward so we could have the normal week everybody would want, which would allow for Order of Business and questions to the Taoiseach.
Deputy Emmet Stagg: Is this meant to be a brief contribution?
Deputy Micheál Martin: Why do we not have questions to the Taoiseach today? The Taoiseach decided not to have them.
Deputy Emmet Stagg: Deputy Martin will have nothing left to say.
Deputy Micheál Martin: This is a jackboot approach to Parliament. The Government wants to dictate the debate the way the Executive wants to dictate it, with no input from the Opposition whatsoever in terms of the form or order of the schedule.
Deputy Emmet Stagg: Deputy Sean Ó Fearghaíl had an input.
Deputy Micheál Martin: The Government's approach is very anti-democratic. With regard to all of the proposals made on Dáil reform and so forth, this is the absolute antithesis of such proclamations by the Taoiseach in the past.
The Taoiseach: Neither true nor fair.
An Leas-Cheann Comhairle: Does Deputy Adams wish to comment?
Deputy Gerry Adams: No, I have become used to the way the Government does its business. I would rather go into a review of the programme for Government.
Deputy Billy Kelleher: Is that a white flag? |
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