Cosgrave says TDs playing to cameras

DÁIL BUSINESS has been carried out less efficiently since Oireachtas proceedings began to be televised, former taoiseach Liam Cosgrave said yesterday.

The 90-year-old former Fine Gael leader was launching MEP Gay Mitchell's history of the Dáil public accounts committee, By Dáil Account, which advocates Dáil reform, at the European parliament office in Dublin.

“I often think that if less of the Dáil was on television there wouldn’t be half the need for reform because business is not done as efficiently as it used to be. And it’s mainly since that was introduced, when people are more interested in getting on the camera,” Mr Cosgrave said.

“Now I don’t mean to be critical of politicians but it’s a fact of life. We had to work without that publicity.” Mr Cosgrave said he hoped Mr Mitchell’s book would focus attention on the need for “efficient, accurate and careful” preparation of public accounts, “because a lot of the State and semi-State organisations, as we know from too many reports, have become a bit slipshod”. This was also occasionally the case in some Government departments.

A casual approach to the examination of accounts should not be tolerated and those found to be responsible for such practices should be removed immediately.

“Confidence can only be restored if persons who have to carry out such responsibilities behave openly and honestly. Wrongdoers should be removed and steps taken to restore confidence in the public administration,” said Mr Cosgrave.

Mr Mitchell called for a move away from “adversarial” politics, saying it was necessary for the opposition of the day to “prosecute” the Government, but not in every circumstance.

“Our real problem is not that Government doesn’t work, our real problem is that parliament doesn’t work,” he said.

“The institution itself has failed.”