Long summer break - IMF should look at Dáil

Incredibly, Irish politicians expect a jaundiced public to believe they will spend the next two months at committee meetings and working for constituents.

That highly implausible scenario is the customary response to criticism of the excessive two-month summer holiday which begins today and runs to Sept 18.

Despite much talk about reforming the system, even though this 8-week break is shorter than usual, the Fine Gael-Labour coalition has little enough to show by way of Dáil or Senate reform after 16 months in office.

With inter-party relations fraught, especially between various health ministers, they will be happy to decamp to the beach despite the inclement weather. Maybe the IMF should put Dáil Éireann under the microscope to save money.