Reform of Dáil Éireann and the long, long Summer recess

Where is the reform of Dáil Éireann as promised by the Green Party?

The Green Party promised to reform "Dáil Éireann to sit for 45 weeks of the year, sittings running from Monday afternoons to Friday lunchtimes with full days starting at 9.30am and ending no later than 7pm" link.

Instead, we have Green TD Paul Gogarty on the Pat Kenny show yesterday morning saying that the Dáil cannot sit into July because a number of TD's and Ministers already had their holidays booked! Mr. Gogarty also didnt know when the Dáil would resume but presumed it would be sometime in September. We also have another Green TD Trevor Sargent on the Late Debate on TRE radio last night being slaughtered on this issue.

But this is not a new story. It si just the same old debate we have every Summer. Senan Moloney noted in the Independent back in 2007 ...

"The Green party campaigned for a hugely increased Dail workload during the recent general election, but the agreed Programme for Government has no specifics on this. Instead, it says that Fianna Fail, the Greens and the Progressive Democrats will “pursue the issue of reform of Oireachtas sitting times, Oireachtas procedures and strengthening the role of committees”.

While the role of committees won’t be strengthened this summer by the non-appointment of Chairs (worth an extra €20,000 to the lucky man or woman in each case), the envisaged reform of the legislature also promises to reconsider the recommendations of the All Party Oireachtas Committee on the Constitution on the subject. And the programme says that the coalition partners are pledged to “determine the extent of cross-party agreement on the recommednations of the Report on Seanad Reform.”

And here we still are 3 years later. And still no reform as the TD's and Ministers ready themselves for the 3 month Dáil holidays. The same TD's and Ministers who are apparently too busy to hold the still outstanding 3 by-elections.