Paul Bradford (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister, Deputy Shatter, to the House. A long journey in politics has brought him here and I wish him well over the next five years. I am sure he will address this House on many occasions and bring forward many pieces of legislation.

The recent general election was a watershed — all the cliches have been used. The main reason the public cast such a strong opinion on election day was that the Irish economy was broken and a new beginning was required. Not only has the economy been broken but over the past decade or so, politics in Ireland has been broken.

The rebuilding of our country is not just about an economic solution, we need a rebuilding of trust and confidence in the political system. Much of the programme for Government relates to political reform. If the programme for Government is taken to the ultimate conclusion this House will be abolished. I ask the Minister and his Government colleagues in the course of the next few months, in advance of final decisions being made, to reflect on the value of the second Chamber, the Upper House. There is a proposal to abolish the Seanad by way of a referendum to be put to the people in the autumn or shortly afterwards. I hope the Minister and his colleagues will be courageous enough to reflect on the possibility of allowing the people a preference under which they could decide to abolish the Seanad in its current format, amend the way in which Members are elected and how the House works or, if they so desire, leave to allow the present situation continue.

If we are true believers in democracy I do not know any country where people have benefited from less democracy rather than more democracy. If we are to offer the people a choice in regard to how the country is run and the type of political structures in place, it should not be an either or, there should also be the option of the reform of this House, which I hope would be given some consideration. The overall package of political reform is one with which I generally agree. However, that political reform must begin and end with Dáil Éireann. I note that the constitutional convention will need to reflect on the possibility of changing the electoral system and making suitable arrangements in that regard.

Any fair student of politics in Ireland would concede that our electoral system to Dáil Éireann simply is not working and has produced not only politicians but a political party system and policy making formation which have left the country in its current economic mess. There is an urgent need to change our electoral system. It is fair enough for the constitutional convention to consider comprehensive constitutional change, including a review of the Dáil electoral system, but I hope there will be a strong recommendation from Government to that convention to come up with an alternative system of electing the men and women to represent us in the Dáil. The need to reduce the number of Dáil Deputies will be looked at and one could argue for a small reduction in the number of TDs. While the electoral system may have satisfied the needs of our country for 40 or 50 years after the foundation of the State, we need to elect a different politician to face the economic, social and other challenges. Electoral reform must be at the top of our agenda. Seanad reform can be seen as the full picture. Electoral reform is a much bigger issue than Seanad reform.

I ask the Minister to take back to his Government colleagues the need to significantly strengthen local government. While this is mentioned in the programme for Government, local government can be at the core of rebuilding society through local partnerships, local enterprise boards, etc. Local government is powerless and cannot raise revenue while, simultaneously, various quangos, partnership boards and various Leader groups have access to tens of millions of euro without the type of accountability which covers local government. I hope we will examine local government and strengthen it. Courageous decisions will be required if we are to seriously reflect on the future of town councils. There is no point in pretending that town councils in their current format are serving the needs of the country. A major review of local government is required. We have been talking about this major review of local government for the past two or three decades but it simply has not happened. While the Government has a huge economic task on hand, in one sense its economic choices are limited and no matter who is in government during the next four or five years, there is only one economic road to travel and, unfortunately, that is a tough and difficult road. There are serious choices to be made in regard to political reform and local government and I want to see that happen.

I wish to express one item of concern. While I welcome the creation of a Department of children and the appointment of our former colleague and Fine Gael leader in the House, to the portfolio of Minister for children, on the other side of the spectrum the question of older people from a ministerial perspective seems to have disappeared. In previous Governments there was a Minister of State with responsibility for older people. I recognise that services pertaining to older people come within the ambit of various Departments but at an early opportunity I would like the Government to make a strong statement on older people and, perhaps, in the formation of the new policy committees within the House, one committee could look at the problems, challenges and issues facing older people. We need to make a strong political statement about the way we as a society value older people. We, along with the Minister, have reflected on the inevitable need for a constitutional referendum to protect the rights of children. Perhaps when the Minister has time to consider it further, he might look at the other end of the spectrum. We should think about the possibility of a constitutional referendum to protect the rights of older citizens. From a political leadership perspective, I would like one of the new Oireachtas committees to take responsibility for older citizens and all the services which relate to them.