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Dáil
‹ An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business

Legislative schedule and debate time

Summary

The Tánaiste defended the packed sitting hours and argued the Dáil should spend more time passing legislation. Several Deputies interjected to complain about the rush, and he suggested changing the rules to prioritise legislation over motions and other business.

Leo Varadkar The Tánaiste Fine Gael

We have a very busy schedule this week. The Dáil will sit until 12 midnight tonight. It will resume at 9 o'clock in the morning and will sit until after 10 o'clock tomorrow night. It will resume at 9 o'clock on Thursday morning and sit until after 10 o'clock that night. I acknowledge that it is a busy schedule. However, there is important legislation that we need to pass, including a measure on the cost of living eliminating paediatric inpatient charges in our hospitals; an important anti-crime measure, namely, the Communication (Retention of Data) (Amendment) Bill 2022; an important special needs measure for children who do not have school places for this September; and important legislation on mica. We want to get the mica redress scheme legislated for before the recess so that we can have it up and running in the autumn. There has been a full-day committee hearing on the legislation already. There will also be a Seanad debate on the Bill. We are keen to get all the legislation through. I suggest that there is one thing that we need to think about collectively, which is that when we come back in September, we need to spend more time on legislation. I agree with the Taoiseach, who has made the point previously, that we spend too much time on statements and on show motions that have absolutely no legal effect. We do not need them. We need to spend much more time-----

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The Tánaiste is the showman.

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Leo Varadkar The Tánaiste Fine Gael

-----doing what parliaments are supposed to do, namely, spending time on legislation.

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Change the Order of Business. Let us start today. Let us give more time to the mica Bill.

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Leo Varadkar The Tánaiste Fine Gael

I agree. Again-----

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Catherine Connolly An Leas-Cheann Comhairle Independent

I ask Deputies to speak through the Chair.

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Leo Varadkar The Tánaiste Fine Gael

You always know you are speaking the truth and touching a raw nerve when the Opposition tries to shout you down.

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The Tánaiste is a showman.

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He is a showman.

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Leo Varadkar The Tánaiste Fine Gael

We are-----

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Leo Varadkar The Tánaiste Fine Gael

-----the Legislature. We are here to pass legislation. Looking at other parliaments around the world, they spend more time on legislation, doing what they are supposed to do, and less time on motions, statements and showboating.

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We are duty-bound to discuss legislation.

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Leo Varadkar The Tánaiste Fine Gael

We should change our rules in September so that we spend more time on legislation and less on all the other stuff.

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We are entitled to do that as the Opposition.

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We could start by sitting on a Tuesday morning.

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