Kitt in pledge to work for reform of Dáil

Government Chief Whip Tom Kitt has committed himself to working with the Opposition parties to reform the Dáil when business …

Government Chief Whip Tom Kitt has committed himself to working with the Opposition parties to reform the Dáil when business resumes after the summer recess.

"We have always tried to reach consensus on Dáil reform and we will try again because I do intend to re-establish the Dáil reform committee. We will meet before Christmas to start work on that," said Mr Kitt.

Speaking on RTÉ's This Weekprogramme, he defended the work done by the Dáil during the two-week session that followed the election and particularly the stamp duty legislation which he said was necessary to provide stability in the housing market.

Mr Kitt said that while the legislation would ensure that young people were given the help they needed to get a foot on the property ladder, there were other aspects that had to be considered.

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"The Minister for Finance has said he will deal with other aspects in the Budget but clearly the first priority was to make sure that there was certainty about the marketplace in the months ahead and we all know now that the house prices are coming down and there are other issues at play here.

"There are issues with regard to the jobs in the construction sector and we have to make sure that if the jobs in the construction sector are diminished in some way, that there are jobs in other parts of the economy. There are broader issues at stake here," said Mr Kitt.

Stephen Collins

Stephen Collins

Stephen Collins is a columnist with and former political editor of The Irish Times