asked the Taoiseach when he intends to propose the establishment of a select committee of the Oireachtas to examine and report on local authority funding, structures and functions, as promised in the Fianna Fáil-Progressive Democrats Programme for Government.

The Government Chief Whip is discussing the establishment of this committee with the other Whips.

If the Government Chief Whip is discussing this matter with the other Whips, I am bound to say that the other Whips do not seem to have noticed. We have seen it in the newspapers. Does the Taoiseach envisage the Government's making any proposals to this committee in relation to the funding, structures and functions of local authorities?

Let us establish the committee first and give it terms of reference. That will be done almost immediately.

How immediately is almost?

Question No. 5.

Before we leave Question No. 4, I might mention that a fortnight ago I had four questions to the Taoiseach which he transferred to other Ministers. I have subsequently had correspondence with you on the matter. I withdrew the questions from those Ministers last week and resubmitted them to the Taoiseach, with another question asking what criteria he uses when transferring questions. The four questions are not on the Order Paper and I presume there is correspondence somewhere for me.

It is hardly in order to raise the matter now.

I received a letter from you this morning which states that the Taoiseach has no responsibility to the Dáil in relation to the criteria he uses for transferring questions. It seems extraordinary that you say you have no responsibility as to whether the Taoiseach answers or not and the Taoiseach says he has no responsibility to tell the House why he transfers questions.

I have striven to be as helpful to the Deputy as is humanly possible in this matter, both privately and publicly in the House. I have nothing more to add. If there is another way you want to deal with it, please do so, but you may not challenge my ruling in this fashion.

I do not propose to challenge your ruling but I do propose to raise it. The Taoiseach is quoted in the newspapers over a period of months as having dismissed a long standing public servant and he will not answer in this House.

Deputy Barry will have to raise this matter in another, more appropriate way.

It is regrettable that he will not stand over the charges made against him.

I do not want any misapprehensions to get abroad about this matter. In regard to transferring questions, I follow exactly the same precedent as all my predecessors. The record shows that I have answered infinitely more questions than my immediate predecessor, Deputy Garret FitzGerald.

That is totally irrelevant. The Taoiseach knows he did not answer more questions. There were four questions down because there were four party leaders in the last Dáil. There was only one Opposition leader when Deputy FitzGerald was Taoiseach. The Taoiseach gave one answer to four questions. He has answered far fewer questions than Deputy FitzGerald.

I have answered three times as many.

No, the Taoiseach has bunched three, four or five questions together.

I wish to raise on the Adjournment the current conditions and problems relating to the Botanic Gardens.

I will be in touch with the Deputy.

I wish to raise on the Adjournment the way the Taoiseach is evading his responsibility in this House by not answering questions which are clearly his responsibility.

I will be in touch with the Deputy concerning that matter.