Is the proposal for dealing with No. 19, Order for Report, Report and Final Stages of the Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill agreed to?

No.

Could we have some order please?

Again, I object to the guillotining of this Bill. Twenty-seven amendments have been tabled to that particular legislation and approximately one hour and 20 minutes has been allocated to go through them. This is the third item of legislation this morning the Government is insisting be guillotined through this House.

Shocking.

Again, this is the Government running the House, deciding what gets debated and for how long, as well as how much time is given for individual amendments. This is jackboot politics and jackboot parliamentarianism.

Boot-boys.

Members opposite were there for long enough.

This is what goes on in here, day in and day out. It flies in the face of what the Government stated it would do in the programme for Government. The Government should tear up the programme for Government and at least be consistent and honest in its approach to the Dáil and Dáil reform.

Deputy Martin's party tore up its programme.

Please, allow the Deputy.

While the truth hurts, recent research has demonstrated the degree to which the Government has flouted its own commitments in the programme for Government in respect of Dáil reform. I refer, for example, to the non-attendance last week by the Minister during large parts of the Private Members' Bill on education. Moreover, the number of times Ministers do not turn up for Topical Issue debates is far in excess of what they committed to and promised. In fairness to the Chief Whip himself, he stated the behaviour of Ministers was deplorable in respect of Dáil reform.

Hear, hear.

That is what he said on the front page of The Irish Times.

The newspaper of record.

I agree with the Chief Whip-----

Imagine what I said about the Deputy.

Order please.

I agree with him that the performance of the Government in respect of Dáil reform has been truly deplorable.

Does Deputy Martin agree with his own chief Whip?

Will the Minister give a commitment to Members that this is the last of this kind of series of measures that would be put before the House before the summer recess?

Can the Deputy whip his own Chief Whip?

The Government should have some respect for the House. The Government intends to get rid of the other House and wants to get rid of urban councils.

The Deputy's days are numbered.

Moreover, it is giving people in the Gaeltacht no vote on who represents them on Údarás na Gaeltachta.

They are very well represented.

Thank you, Deputy.

All that will be left is this House, and as far as the Government is concerned, that suits it fine.

With a majority, it is happy to suppress debate and dissent, as Deputy Mathews knows only too well this morning. Despite his financial acumen and his ability, he was summarily dismissed.

Thank you, Deputy.

There is an authoritarian streak at the heart of the present Government and it is evident every day.

Thank you, Deputy. I call Deputy Adams. Order, please.

The Deputy is trying to save his own skin.

I have made my point. I had intended to bring attention to the Chief Whip's deploring of the Government's lack of good record on Dáil reform.

Deploring?

It seems as though he can get something right.

He is the Minister of State who has the responsibility to bring together the committee that is charged with that responsibility. Consequently, I simply register a protest here on behalf of Sinn Féin.

First, it is a bit rich listening to Deputy Martin lecturing on Dáil reform. One should not forget that under the previous regime, the Topical Issue debates of which he complains were closeted away at the very end of business when everyone had gone home.

Ministers do not even turn up. What Chief Whip said that?

They now are taken in prime time. One also should not forget that for the first time, as exemplified on this Order Paper in respect of the banking inquiries, the Government brought this issue to the committee-----

The Government destroyed that last week.

-----before the heads of Bill were prepared to give the committee an opportunity to make an input. This constitutes opening up legislation to the input of experts, as well as a mature reflection by Deputies of what goes into the Bill. However, Members opposite are complaining that at the end of the procedure, when it is known there is a deadline to get this legislation passed-----

They are grandstanding.

It is a false deadline.

Quiet, please.

Despite having had enormous time on Second and Committee Stages, they are refusing to allow a conclusion to be brought.

No, we seek a debate.

This is about bringing a conclusion to these Bills. Moreover, when Fianna Fáil was in government, it would not even answer questions on a Thursday. No leaders appeared in the Chamber to answer questions on Thursday.

They still do not.

Consequently, progress is being made by the Government on Dáil reform. While there is more to be done-----

Is the Minister, Deputy Bruton, the leader?

Quiet, please.

Please allow the Minister to respond.

A leader comes in for questions from the party leaders on Thursday. Fianna Fáil consistently refused to allow that. Members opposite are not willing to recognise that reform is occurring. While of course a lot more must be done and it is the responsibility of the House to bring in additional reform, Members opposite should have the decency to recognise that significant progress has been made.

Is the proposal for dealing with Private Members' business agreed to? Agreed.