Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)

In response to the Labour Party Deputies, who have left the Chamber, it is important to point out that the motion put forward by the Technical Group is not meant to be a comprehensive response to the urgent need for political or Dáil reform, because there are divergent views within the group on that matter. We understand that there must be a real debate in society and between political parties and public representatives about how we make our system more democratic, responsive and participatory and in putting forward this motion, we wanted to prompt that debate.

The fundamental and radical change needed to democratise our society and make our political systems responsive to the needs and aspirations of the majority of the people goes way beyond Dáil reform and beyond tinkering around with its business. It is about deep, fundamental change. I want to speak about those deeper issues and the more fundamental change required. However, we put forward some points about Dáil business, because we know change is imminent in that regard. Change will happen because the Government has proposals on the table.

I support and welcome some of the proposed changes. The abolition of the Seanad is long overdue. The Government deserves credit for that proposal, although it was not the first to make it. Fair play to the Government which intends to go through with the proposal, because as far as I am concerned the Seanad is a disgraceful, elitist institution. The fact that only some people get to vote for a representative body and the majority does not makes it an institution that has nothing to do with democracy, one we must get rid of. That proposal is positive. However, whether what is left will be truly democratic or representative is something on which we need further discussion.

I also welcome the promise of whistleblowers' legislation and although we have yet to see the detail on that, it is a positive move. I agree with Deputy Wallace and others that the Government proposal to introduce a system for parliamentary questions which will mean Deputies must be in the Chamber in order to have their questions accepted is a positive and long overdue change.

However, with regard to smaller and more technical issues, some of the Government proposals move in the opposite direction from making the Chamber more responsive and democratic. Reducing questions to the Taoiseach to one slot a week, from the current two slots - which I believe used to be three - will reduce the exposure of the Taoiseach to public accountability. That is wrong and regressive and the Government should ditch that proposal. The suggestion put forward for topical debates is a good idea, but it is important these debates take place early in the day and that they are not shunted to late at night. We also need to do something about the fiasco that is the Order of Business. What needs to be done in that regard is not to remove the Taoiseach from that slot, but to open the slot up and regularise the de facto situation. Deputies want to raise topical issues early in the day with the Leader of the Government. They should have the right to do that and should not need to play games with the Ceann Comhairle based on an archaic mechanism of Order of Business which only seems to limit discussion. I do not blame the Ceann Comhairle for that but there is an urgent need to regularise the de facto situation which is that people want to raise topical issues early in the day.

These are technical details and even though I have made some proposals, as has the Government, the phrase rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic comes to mind. While I do not know who said it, he or she was right in saying that politics is concentrated economics. The bottom line is that no matter how wonderful our democratic structures are, they mean nothing if people have no real power and control over the things that matter to them - their ability to get a job or a house, to have industry, to have economic and social development. The problem is that in signing up to the IMF-EU deal, whatever tinkering we do with the political system is all irrelevant because the decisions on the things that really matter and that will affect the day-to-day lives of ordinary people have been handed over to a body that is completely unaccountable to the people of this country.

What is happening in Greece is terrifying. It also relates to the issue of privatisation which the EU and IMF are pushing, on which I do not know the Government's attitude.

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