Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Business Committee is a new method of trying to get agreement on the business of the week. I am one of those who proposed that we sit until midnight in preference to sitting on Fridays. This is the express wish of most backbench Deputies of all parties. Based on the time that has been allocated to plenary and committee sessions, they would prefer to sit later rather than come in on Fridays. I do not have a problem. I have argued - we can argue again at the Sub-Committee on Dáil Reform - that we need to make different arrangements. Within the time allocated, however, the best solution was for us to sit late - whatever about where each debate took place. That was the argument in which we were engaging.

In respect of the second proposal to have the motions relating to the European Defence Agency taken without debate, as on other occasions when motions relating to that agency have come before the House, I have asked that - given the continuous move towards the militarisation of Europe - we have a debate in the Chamber in the first instance rather than referring the motion to the relevant committee and then having it returned to us. Although, these motions seem to be laudable on their own merits, if one looks at them, one can see that they are contributing to the ongoing moves that have been made to ensure that the Irish Defence Forces become more dependent on and more integrated into an EU military structure. This debate needs to be held here, as was promised in the past when there was a debate on Irish neutrality, which was that a debate should be held here based on the triple lock. That does not seem to be happening.

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