The Ceann Comhairle, John O'Donoghue, has pledged to make the work of the Dáil and the Seanad more accessible to the public.
He was responding to the results of an opinion poll which shows that 53 per cent of people do not feel well informed about the work of the Houses of the Oireachtas.
The details of the poll findings are contained in the annual report of the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission for 2006, which also lists the work of the Dáil, the Seanad and the committees during the year.
Responding to the report, Mr O'Donoghue, who is head of the commission by virtue of his constitutional office, committed himself to encouraging further reform and modernisation of parliamentary services for members and for the public.
The survey, which was designed to measure public perception of the business of parliament, showed that 54 per cent of those surveyed believe that Oireachtas members worked hard but 53 per cent did not feel well informed about the activities of the Houses of the Oireachtas.
A substantial majority, 75 per cent, said that the work done by the Houses of the Oireachtas is more important than the number of days the Houses sit, but 43 per cent did not believe that the Houses of the Oireachtas carried out their work efficiently.
"The commission has been studying these results and recognises that there is a clear need to better inform the public about its business.
"In response it has developed a communications strategy designed to increase public awareness and understanding of the work of the Houses of the Oireachtas and it has agreed a three-year strategic work programme which is being implemented at present," said Mr O'Donoghue.
"This is a very important piece of work which offers a way forward to make the business of politics and the whole democratic process in the Dáil and Seanad more meaningful and relevant for our citizens of all ages and I look forward very much to playing an active part in its implementation," he added.
The annual report detailed the innovations that were made last year, including the introduction of webcasting, the rapid placing of the Houses of the Oireachtas decisions online, longer hours of access to Leinster House, the opening of a new creche, a dramatic increase in visitor numbers, a facility to publish enacted legislation in both official languages simultaneously and a new active programme of value for money and audit reviews.
Mr O'Donoghue said he was gratified to see such change, which, he said, would improve facilities for members and, more importantly, allow for better public engagement with the Houses of the Oireachtas.
"As the new Ceann Comhairle I am keen to see further change and reform of how parliament works and I look forward to working to bring this about, in conjunction with my Houses of the Oireachtas Commission member colleagues.
"Plans for the future include continuing to improve services to members, improving the Houses of the Oireachtas website, strengthening e-consultation and increasing our education and outreach facilities with a view to making the Houses and their committees more visible and accessible to the public," he said.
Among the achievements of the Houses of the Oireachtas in 2006 detailed in the report were:
• 42 Acts passed;
• nearly 41,000 Parliamentary Questions processed;
• 526 matters of public interest specially raised by members were debated;
• 531 committee meetings held;
• 191 reports by committees;
• 1,215 witnesses gave evidence to committees;
• over 2,100 hours of debate in the Dáil, Seanad and committee rooms;
•Houses of the Oireachtas Commission came in 4 per cent under budget for the 2004 - 2006 period.
Mr O'Donoghue pointed out that for the first time the commission had included a section in its report dealing with how the business of parliament was conducted.
