Deputy Premier Paula Cox launched an angry attack on the Opposition at the weekend after criticism of the Government's financial controls.

She said the United Bermuda Party needed to "get a grip on reality" during an early hours debate on Saturday in the House of Assembly on a damning report by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on the financial years ending March 2003 and March 2004.

Finance Minister Ms Cox said she had "listened to a lot" from the other side about late financial reporting from Government departments and quangos and other finance matters raised by the PAC and the Auditor General.

She said the Progressive Labour Party had inherited many of its problems from the previous Government and quoted heavily critical reports from the Auditor General during their term of office, including one from the 1990s in which he said he felt his independence was being compromised.

"There is enough shame and blame to go around in all quarters," she said, listing instances of outstanding reports during the UBP's reign.

She explained she was referring to the past reports "in the interests of intellectual honesty" and "historical context and integrity".

"The problems raised by the Auditor General and the Public Accounts Committee didn't just start overnight," she said.

Ms Cox added that the Government was committed to rectifying the difficulties and was already taking steps to do so.

Earlier, Shadow Works and Engineering Minister Jon Brunson told the House that the Government had had years to put better controls in place to stop fraud and misappropriation of funds.

"It's not good enough to say that you are committed," he said.

Former Opposition Leader Grant Gibbons said it was imperative that proper procedures were in place to protect departments from fraud and the like.

He said there had been an increase in the number of Government-controlled organisations failing to file financial reports from 2002 to 2005.

And he described the National Drug Commission — which the PAC found was two years behind — as "one of the largest financial messes I have ever seen in all my years".

"The best word that can be put on this is shambles, mess, whatever," he said.

"It was a total mess."

Opposition Leader of the House>John Barritt said he hoped that the Speaker of the House would agree to the PAC having seven members rather than its current four.

And he said the committee's meetings should be open to the public.

"It's a matter of what's become good practice," he said. "There is no better antidote to knowing you'll be called before a committee and it will be for public scrutiny and out there for people to see for it to be effective. People will know that they will be called to account."