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Seanad
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Complaints about Adjournment replies

Summary

Senator D’Arcy criticises scripted and irrelevant ministerial responses to Seanad Adjournment matters and proposes adopting the Dáil’s mechanism for challenging unsatisfactory replies.

I wish to comment on the Adjournment debates of this House. When a Member of the Dáil, I criticised the then Adjournment Debate structure in that House, with Ministers reading scripts handed to them as they walked into the Chamber and having no knowledge or information on the matter raised. The same is happening in this House. This is disrespectful to any Member who tables an Adjournment matter.

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That does not only happen on the Adjournment.

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There is now a mechanism available to Members of the Dáil which enables them to make a complaint to the Ceann Comhairle if they are dissatisfied with a response received in regard to a Topical Issue Matter or parliamentary question. The introduction of such a mechanism in this House would be helpful. I have tabled matters on the Adjournment here, the responses to which have often been irrelevant to the matter raised.

I call on the Leader, Whips and Cathaoirleach to consider implementation here of the structure now provided in the Dáil in order that Members of the Seanad who are dissatisfied with responses they receive can appeal the matter to the Cathaoirleach and have it responded to correctly by the appropriate line Minister. I would welcome a written response to that request from the Leader.

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