After meeting for only 93 days since last summer, the Dáil has voted itself a summer holiday of almost 13 weeks, until Wednesday 28 September.
The Government pushed through the holiday despite the protests of the Opposition parties.
The Green Party leader, Trevor Sargent, pointed out that the Commons in London sits for 70% more hours in a year than the Dáil.
He said the long holiday meant the Government was not held to account for what it said.
The Fine Gael leader, Enda Kenny, proposed the Dáil come back a week earlier.
He was supported by Labour's Pat Rabbitte, who said the public did not understand that the three-month Dáil holiday, which was impossible to justify, had been ordered by the Government.
