The Taoiseach has repeatedly told the Dáil, and did so again today, that this is about eight minutes of time and that the Opposition is not losing a single minute of speaking time. I ask him to confirm that is not true and is not something the media should be repeating without interrogation because it is not based on facts. You are cutting Opposition time every single week by 69.5 minutes. You are halving from a meagre minute to 30 seconds for each group to oppose the Order of Business. You are halving the time for Taoiseach's questions from 90 minutes a week to 45 minutes a week - hundreds of questions that will simply go unanswered because you do not want to be held accountable. You are cutting time for the Opposition groups in Private Members' time by 22 minutes a week. Where is that time going? Not eight but 56 minutes of that time is going to Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Lowry group in the form of Leaders' Questions, priority questions to Ministers and extra time on Private Members' business.

You are way over time. Taoiseach to respond.

I will finish on this. If the Taoiseach thinks that Michael Lowry or members of his group asking Leaders' Questions will be accepted here next week, he has another thing coming.

Thank you, Deputy.

The role of the Ceann Comhairle in this has been nothing short of disgraceful.

Your time is up, Deputy.

This is not over.

Deputy, you are the one taking other people's time.

This destruction of the rights of the Opposition in this Dáil will not be accepted.

I remember when former Deputy Mick Barry, Deputy Murphy's colleague, was first elected to the House he said on his first day that there is a saying in France to the effect that you must bring the politics of the street into the Parliament. That has always been Deputy Murphy's view.

I agree with people power, yes.

Exactly. He does not agree with parliamentary institutions.

We should listen to the people.

It is no surprise to me that he would threaten more mayhem and chaos next week because that is what he does. In terms of the Order of Business, we have had a charade for quite a long time whereby the Business Committee meets for a lengthy period-----

Probably going to close down that as well, are you?

-----and an Order of Business is allegedly agreed. We then come in here, and people stand up and sit down and say they do not agree the Order of Business. Sometimes we lose ten or 15 minutes when other Deputies could have the opportunity to raise issues specific to their constituencies or that they are concerned about.

So you are cutting our time.

No. We are allowing Deputies to have a greater say and not to be dominated by yourself and others, who tend to dominate and take ten minutes of other people's time every time they oppose, sometimes for superficial reasons-----

I call on Deputy Gogarty.

There are many pressing national and international issues we need to discuss. In this context, given that the total Opposition time has been reduced by almost 70 minutes and Government-related time has been increased by 56 minutes, the time for the Government to be held to account is being significantly curtailed.

Hear, hear.

The Taoiseach has to acknowledge his role, and that of his party, Fine Gael and the Lowry line-up in the whole debacle of calling time for Government Independents non-Government time. Will he now push for the Dáil to sit at 9 a.m. on Tuesdays to address the time balance? Even better, he could review this plan. Abusing the Ceann Comhairle is wrong, the way the Ceann Comhairle was treated yesterday was semi-feral and as a collective, there are more dignified ways to make a Dáil protest. Still, however, the Government's policy is wrong and the Taoiseach knows it. Will he please reconsider?

In respect of Leaders' Questions, no party here is in any way losing anything.

Overall time.

Some parties have gained more and will have more time on Leaders' Questions. I would favour Friday sittings for legislation because I do not think Government time is enough in terms of-----

Not for Taoiseach's questions.

-----getting legislation through. We are a legislative Chamber; not just a debating Chamber. If the Dáil wants to sit longer, I have no issue with that at all.