We believe there should be proportionality and plenty of time for every Deputy. I am a great believer in parliamentary democracy and I believe people of all parties and none should have an opportunity to speak and articulate their views.

No, actually-----

In the previous Dáil, that did not happen.

Many Deputies were excluded in the previous Dáil in practical terms. They just did not get the opportunities.

They did not get the opportunities; that is what happened.

Groups with far fewer Deputies in the House got much more time-----

What we need is a bit of balance; that is all. As far as I am concerned-----

I did not interrupt the Deputy. This is a plenary session, and people felt they were excluded. They made representations to the various parties. All parties, in negotiating future orders for this Dáil, arrived at conclusions, agreements and so on. I was not at the meeting of the Business Committee; I do not attend its meetings. My understanding is that an agreement was reached at a meeting of the committee on the sittings for last week, this week and next week, and that is the way it should be. The Government is ob…

This is not a Government matter in the sense that it is a matter for the Oireachtas. The Ceann Comhairle has put it very clearly. He said there was a special meeting at the end of July. No one suggested or proposed to the Ceann Comhairle, bar one Deputy, Deputy Mattie McGrath, that we ignore or go against advice. It seems the situation has to do with voting. The Government is very open to whatever the Oireachtas agrees to consider. It does not serve the Oireachtas very well to be going for the cheap soundbites all …

It has been closed for a long time. It is a great line but it does not help us deal with the situation. It is a great old line but that is about it. It is a nice line to shout out but it does not advance the argument.

The issue seems to be whether we can organise votes here that everybody will observe. I am not an expert on this and I was not a part of the public health expert advice or the secretariat to the Oireachtas with regard to voting. It seems that voting is the major challenge to the authorities in the House with regard to organising it safely within public health guidelines. We are all agreed it is far more amenable for us to be here and it is more efficient timewise to be in this Chamber rather than having to go down …

We will work with other parties to facilitate an agreeable outcome.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 and 2 together. The international section of the Department supports my work at international level, beyond the EU, to promote Ireland's foreign and economic policy objectives and to maintain and develop strong bilateral and multilateral relations. Working closely with other Departments, including the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the international section provides me with advice and briefing on international issues, bilateral and multilateral relations. It also support…

The Government will continue to accord a high priority to the Middle East situation, particularly the conflict between Israel and Palestine and the necessity for genuine movement towards a two-state solution. We welcome the fact that Israel has removed its threat to annex further settlements in Palestine. It is suspending the plans originally announced. We are still concerned by subsequent comments from Prime Minister Netanyahu that any suspension is temporary. Ireland's position is that any such plans should be pe…

On the recognition of the state of Palestine, we have made it clear in the programme for Government that we will honour our commitment to recognise the state of Palestine as part of a lasting settlement of the conflict or in advance of that when we believe that doing so will progress efforts to reach a two-state solution or protect the integrity of Palestinian territory. On practical support for the Palestinians, it should not be forgotten that Ireland provides significant levels of development and humanitarian ass…

The protocol and general division of the Department of the Taoiseach has responsibility for State protocol, including protocol for the Taoiseach and the Government. This involves the organisation and co-ordination, in conjunction with relevant stakeholders, of State and official functions. Such functions include the annual Easter 1916 commemoration, the National Day of Commemoration and State commemorations arising from the decade of centenaries from 2013 to 2023, presidential inaugurations, State funerals and inwa…

Why did the Deputy ask the question then?

The question asked by Deputy Kelly related to the protocol and general division of my Department.

I am.

They are not components of the protocol division. Let us be clear about that. There has been no change to the protocol division. There have been no additional staff provided and the section continues the work that Deputy Kelly and I know it does in organising, on behalf of the State and the Government, various events such as centenary commemorations. Regarding the aide-de-camp to the Tánaiste, there have been two occasions when the aide-de-camp has been used, namely, on 28 June at a wreath-laying ceremony for the C…