There is no big deal here-----

-----in terms of how Mr. Justice Woulfe was appointed. It was similar to previous appointments by the Government of the day but in this case he was recommended as a suitable candidate through the JAAB process-----

-----which is chaired by the Chief Justice and the presidents of four other courts.

That has been conveniently ignored in this particular case. The Minister, Deputy McEntee, said that she was prepared to come before the House next Tuesday and for some reason that was not facilitated.

I respectfully suggest that it should have been facilitated-----

-----and the Members should have then assessed whether they were happy with that process after allowing the Minister to take the questions last week.

It would have been faster and far easier if that had been facilitated but for some reason it was not facilitated.

I have my own views as to why it was not facilitated, which is that there is a desire to keep it going.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 4, inclusive, together. I am pleased to report that the commission has been established by Government and is now fully up and running. It has met on two occasions and will continue to meet on a regular basis in the coming months. I provided a pre-recorded video message to mark the commission's inaugural meeting on 29 October. The commission has been constituted as an independent expert body, and its members have been appointed by the Government on the basis of their expertise i…

We did respond to the points Deputy Nash raised in the House regarding trade union involvement, but also regional media involvement. That occurred in the context of the additional appointments. We respond to points raised from time to time. As the Deputy said, the appointment of Ms Siobhán Holliman — the deputy editor of the Tuam Herald , member of the Press Council and joint cathaoirleach of the Irish executive council of the NUJ — goes some way towards addressing those issues. On the observations of those on the …

Through the Chair, I am saying that as a general observation. We can campaign all we like. I believe our national broadcaster needs sustainability and support. It needs reform and it needs to change. Fundamentally, given what has happened in other countries and states, we need to be mindful and careful of the degree to which democracy can be undermined by a plethora of platforms that seek to distort the truth and do not give the citizens of our democracy good, objective material.

Which?

I do not understand. I am making a general point in answering. I was asked questions on the idea of the universal charge. It has been around for a long time. It is not a new concept. An all-party Oireachtas committee supported it in the past. It is my understanding that the committee, either by majority or unanimity, supported the idea of a universal charge. Anyway, it is up to the commission to decide. I do not understand-----

No, I did not. I made a political point.

As I said, the commission is broad in its membership and I believe it will deal with the core issues that are necessary, especially in terms of public service broadcasting. Then it will deal with regional media, local media and the private sector media as well.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 5 to 7, inclusive, together. The parliamentary liaison unit assists Government in its relationship with the Oireachtas. It works with the Office of the Government Chief Whip on issues that arise at the Business Committee and the Committee on Standing Orders and Dáil Reform, including Dáil reform proposals and amendments to Standing Orders. The unit also supports the Office of the Government Chief Whip in the implementation of the Government's legislative programme. The unit assists …

I thank Deputy Nash for his acknowledgment of my championing of Dáil reform in the previous Dáil, which is true. We brought in many reforms after the 2016 general election. They were significant and they were advances on anything that went before. The Minister for Justice is willing to come into the House. She offered to come in next Tuesday and was turned down by the Opposition. Those are the facts. The Minister said she would come in and answer questions. Members would have to table the questions. That is fairly …

Deputy Boyd Barrett makes the point about having only six and a half minutes but I could equally refer to the perspective of others. The three parties that make up the Government have well over 80 Members in total. It seems to be the position of Deputy Boyd Barrett and some others in the House that backbenchers and Members from the larger parties should be shut up forever and never get an opportunity. That happened in the previous Dáil, unfortunately. They were marginalised, even though they are as entitled to be h…

On Deputy McDonald's point on remote learning, I do not adopt a dismissive attitude to issues of that kind and I regret the Deputy using that phrase, which is not fair or correct. The Deputy raises a lot of issues with me and I have answered them fairly. I do not dismiss them. It is a serious issue for the Minister for Education and her Department. I have approached them on the issue. They will have to deal with and provide for it and there has been challenges in relation to it. On the liaison unit, its main functi…

That is in relation to Dáil reform. I will check and get further clarity on that for the Deputy. The parliamentary liaison unit is headed up by a principal officer in my Department. It is a fairly small unit. I think there are about three members. On the commitments that have been made in relation to Oireachtas reform, the unit works with the Oireachtas and officials here on advancing the reform agenda; expanding the role of the Parliamentary Budget Office to independently audit the cost of individual tax and spend…