Drapier has taken to watching the daily ritual of the Order of Business in the Dail with a detached sense of wonder. We may be the only parliament in the world that confuses fake indignation and Taoiseach-baiting with serious democratic accountability.

The Opposition puts great effort into trying to find issues which will be reported along the lines of: "There were angry exchanges in the Dail this morning concerning [fill in issue here] with Fine Gael/Labour/Green deputies accusing the Government of [fill in appropriate crime against humanity here]."

On the other side, the Taoiseach has either to try to be prepared for dozens of potential ambushes or simply dismiss them as a nonsense.

One of the more recent innovations during the Order of Business is the long statements about supposed injuries to the "dignity of the House". Most of this seems to be imported from Westminster.

Drapier would advise his colleagues on both sides to step back a little from this practice and avoid the self-absorbed pomposity which can be so much a part of the "Mother of Parliaments".

Drapier cannot recall the last time the handling of a serious issue was helped by an Order of Business argument. It seems that the public has long since given up paying attention to politicians who shriek "crisis" every day. Perhaps it is time a ceasefire was called in this eternal phoney war.

This week the Government showed signs that it believed in the New Labour principle of "joined-up government": almost within hours of Charlie McCreevy's announcement urging us to go out and enjoy the products of another £500 million to the already burgeoning Budget surplus, Justice Minister John O'Donoghue extends pub and night-club opening times in his Intoxicating Liquor Bill.

Now that's what I call co-ordination.

Some, including Drapier, recall O'Donoghue's problems early last year when a minor revolt by Fianna Fail backbenchers scuppered his planned licensing law reforms. That Bill never got beyond its second stage in the Dail after an intensive lobby by the nation's publicans.

This time, however, O'Donoghue has lined all his ducks up in a row and had the bonus of having a Licensing Law Commission to kick any outstanding items into touch. Either way, this summer Drapier expects to enjoy his occasional late-night tipple in comfort, free from fear of midnight raids.

Another proponent of the joined-up government principle, Health Minister Micheal Martin, had a fairly good week, all things considered. In the last week alone he faced difficulties on a number of fronts: haemophilia legal representation, junior hospital doctors' hours, and increasing levels of MRSA ["superbug"] infection.

Both in the chamber and in the media, Martin showed his considerable communications and conciliation skills. Those who thought he had taken a poisoned chalice by moving to Hawkins House are beginning to realise that under the charming exterior lurks a man of mettle.

This he showed in going head to head with the Irish Haemophiliac Society spokesperson. If being minister for education raised his profile, being Minister for Health will raise his standing.

Of course, it helps when you have the Labour Party scoring own goals on the health issue. Their universal health insurance proposal, Curing Our Ills, is misguided, to say the least. While Labour is anxious to emphasise that this is just a discussion document, Drapier is surprised to see both Liz Mc Manus and Brendan Howlin advocate this idea, given their knowledge of the area.

We can only hope that this notion will bite the dust when the rank-and-file get their hands on it. If not then I would not envy the task of Labour candidates having to give guarantees to keep every service in every hospital, because if they do, they will have to admit that their policy isn't credible.

Labour members should remember the late Tom Foxe, the man who was elected over planned service reductions in Roscommon Hospital. Expect this proposal to be abandoned outright or qualified beyond all recognition between now and polling day.

Health has been a major issue in Irish politics ever since Charlie Haughey's biggest electoral failure, the 1989 general election. Fianna Fail are signalling that they see this proposal as a big opportunity to attack Labour.

Indeed, Labour have scored two own goals on the health issue this week. Their support of the Haemophilia Society is understandable: these people have been grievously wronged in the past. But the Opposition have chosen the easy route and want the lawyers to have their way.

They should think twice before trying to create a bandwagon in favour of the right of lawyers to have whatever they want at the public's expense.

Some of Drapier's colleagues are beginning to question the direction in which Ruairi Quinn is taking the Labour Party. Indeed, some are wondering if he is heading in any direction at all. Admittedly, these colleagues are not on the Labour benches in either house, but they do have a point.

In the week that the party chose to launch its "radical" health document, they elected to use their private members' time to discuss Tommy Broughan's Road Traffic (Joyriding) Bill, 2000. This does not appear to Drapier to be a good use of time and indicates a lack of direction and co-ordination in their strategy.

Perhaps they should pop over to Millbank and get a few lessons on the joined-up government principle from their New Labour colleagues. Ruairi needs to bring his party together around a central vision: if not, then he may find himself in difficulties after the next general election.

Indeed, speaking of Ruairi and the next election, Drapier wonders if i's former constituency colleague and current the Attorney General, a former constituency colleague of Ruairi's, has decided officially to make a comeback as a Progressive Democrats deputy.

Drapier was set on this train of thought by a comment on RTE's The Week In Politics. During the course of Nick Coffey's excellent report on the PDs' electoral prospects, the party's national chairman ventured that they expected to retake Dublin South East with a high-profile candidate, either Michael McDowell or Fiona O'Malley.

Is this confirmation of the AG's intentions or are his former colleagues attempting to bounce him into a decision? Drapier knows Michael well and would be surprised to see him bounced into any decision. If he runs it will be because he wants to, not because he was forced to.

A PD gain here at the expense of the Green Party's John Gormley could tilt the balance in favour of the return of the current Government, but Drapier knows that it is futile trying to predict the result of the next election at this point.

As a wise minister once said: "While predicting is difficult, predicting the future is particularly difficult".