Aontú Leader Peadar Tóibín has questioned Minister Mary Butler, today at Taoiseach’s questions in the Dáil, on the progress of the Government’s legislative programme. An Teachta Tóivín stated:
“Minister Butler has admitted to me today in the Dáil that the Government’s legislative programme is held up because Committees are not in place yet. We are approaching 100 days since the election and there are no Oireachtas Committees in place yet. This is outrageous. This is a disaster, The Dáil is legislative assembly that cannot legislate. The lack of Oireachtas Committees prevents TDs and Seanadóirí a key platform to hold this government to account but it also means that critical legislation cannot proceed through either the Dáil or the Seanad. The functioning of the Oireachtas is now being completely hamstrung by the government’s insistence on giving opposition speaking time to pro government TDs.
The government is awash with cost overrun scandals. TDs cannot bring former Minister Catherine Martin before the Dáil to discuss the €7m cost of the Arts Council IT system that does not exist. PAC cannot question the Department of the Arts over the 8 year old X-ray scanner that has not been switched on yet. We cannot bring the OPW before the Finance Committee to ask why they are building a wall around the Hill of Tara for the last 11 years. The Oireachtas is toothless in holding this Gucci government to account.
The government has stated in this term, there will be 50 bills for drafting and publication and that there are 14 Bills at various stages of the Houses of the Oireachtas. The vast majority of these Bills will go nowhere fast for the lack of a committee at prelegislative scrutiny and committee stage. How long is this dysfunction and farce going to continue. The Standing Orders of the Dáil need to be amended immediately to ensure that there is a clear definition between opposition and government TDs and that opposition speaking time is used exclusively for opposition TDs. All TDs must also have the right to speak and represent their mandate in the Dáil equally. Any delay in these reforms will increase the dysfunction of the Dáil.
