Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Now that citizens have spoken and decided to retain the Seanad, it is essential that it be reformed. The recent by-election which had a total electorate of just 220 Deputies and Senators exposed how numerically limited the electorate was. I take the opportunity to congratulate Senator Gerard Craughwell on his election. Some of us signed his nomination papers because we believed there was a need for a contest. It should not have been just in the gift of the Taoiseach; it was cronyism that led to the downfall of the Government-nominated candidate.

There is a lot said about the university panels which comprise just six of the 60 Senators.

Extending the franchise to the other universities is a relatively straightforward issue because at least there is a sizeable electorate on the university panels. It is less straightforward to deal with the 43 Senators currently elected by fewer than 1,000 people who happen to be councillors, Deputies or Senators, and the 11 Senators who are nominated by the Taoiseach. An interrelationship between our political institutions and the diversity that could become a refreshing feature is suggested in the White Paper on local government, which concluded that there was a need for a regional tier of government. In the near future, we will be seeing a cobbled together regional tier, with most citizens unaware of its existence or purpose. They will have no direct role in electing its members because each city and county council will nominate two or three people, probably from the largest groupings.

We need to stop talking about balanced regional development and start to develop institutions that can deliver it. Balanced regional development includes not only the built environment but also the social, cultural and economic development of our regions. There is an opportunity for a small number of powerful regions to be directly elected, with direct links with the Seanad. Such linkages have made a great difference to the development of cities like Barcelona. The 43 Senators could play a role in the regional process in speciality areas such as culture and leisure; transport and planning; or industry and commerce, where they might be able to attract investment directly. The vocational nature of this work could develop a practical side to the Seanad.

Water services could have been delivered on a regional basis. Much has been made about the concentration of 43 local authorities into a unitary Irish Water but the pipes are still located in the local authority areas. The White Paper might have offered us a different way of managing this change by connecting our institutions. The Seanad could deliver that kind of change and I support the call in this motion to engage all parties and groups in the Oireachtas, as well as civil society. This must be seen as an opportunity to refresh and renew our institutions. The White Paper was drafted at the conclusion of a long process of consultation and contained a considerable number of recommendations that could have been implemented. Political parties need to stop using the Seanad as a play thing because it discredits the institution and politics in general. Most of all, it is a wasted opportunity to renew it in a way that links it to balanced regional development and decentralising the country in a meaningful way.

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