TDs vote for 12-week Dail summer recess

The Dail tonight voted for a 12-week summer recess until September 27th.

The Dail tonight voted for a 12-week summer recess until September 27th.

A motion was carried despite opposition leaders' pleas to curtail the break to give closer scrutiny to legislation and debate the Dalton Report, the Sullivan Report and the Barr Report.

Several Oireachtas Committees, including the new all-party Committee on Child Protection will sit in July and resume again in September after a break for August.

Government ministers are also due to attend meetings with Fianna Fail backbenchers in coming weeks to discuss party policy.

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The Oireachtas Press Office said the Dail sat for a total of 62 days and the Seanad sat for 53 days so far this year.

Some 47 Bills were published with 18 enacted.

In excess of 23,000 Parliamentary Questions were answered with only 3.99 per cent of all questions submitted being disallowed.

A total of 535 individual matters were raised on the adjournment in the Dail. A total of 18 statements were made in the Dail with 27 in the Seanad.

More than 250 Committee meetings were held since January, clocking up 500 hours.

Earlier in the Dail, Labour leader Pat Rabbitte said: "It is immensely damaging that we are not seen to take a reasonable break in line with other parliaments.

"Everybody is aware of that. Legislation has been introduced almost without notice and, in some cases, all stages have been taken together with no adequate opportunity to scrutinise it.

"That this House sits for an additional week and return in the middle of September is an eminently reasonable proposal and would avoid much of the negative commentary and coverage that the business of politics will attract as a result of the Government's decision to shut down the House until September 27th.

Greens leader Trevor Sargent said Westminster's parliament sits for 55 more days that the Dail.

"How can the Dail justify sitting 96 days, not even reaching 100, while across the water parliament sitting another 55 days is considered normal?"

He said both parliaments had parity of esteem under the Good Friday Agreement and the Dail needed to catch up with the UK.