Ivana Bacik (Independent) | Oireachtas source

That would strengthen rather than weaken our democracy. I regret that the position of the Labour Party in advance of the last election - that the matter should go to the Constitutional Convention - has not been ultimately adopted within the programme for Government.

The case for fundamental and substantive reform of the Seanad is clear and unanswerable, and nobody within or outside the House would argue for retention of the Seanad in its current form. Reform of the Seanad has had cross-party support for many years, although it is fair to say that the political will to introduce the necessary legislation or constitutional amendments has been lacking. I will return to that point, and it is important to note there are two Bills before us that have passed Second Stage which provide for significant reform within the terms of the current constitutional provisions. They have been put forward by Independent Senators, so there is a blueprint for reform in a legislative format. There has also been a cross-party report, chaired by a former Senator, Ms Mary O'Rourke, which made some very significant recommendations for change when it was published in 2004.

The basic composition of the Seanad is currently provided for in Articles 18 and 19 of the Constitution and in legislation such as the Seanad Electoral (Panel Members) Acts of 1947 and 1954 as amended and the Seanad Electoral (University Members) Act 1937. There are many references to the Seanad throughout the Constitution and they are addressed in the terms of the Bill. It is fair to say that the majority of Senators are elected by a very limited electorate, with those of us elected by the universities having a bigger numerical electorate. My electorate of the University of Dublin has over 50,000 people, with the National University of Ireland electorate at twice that number. There is a significant number of people, both inside and outside Ireland, who vote for the university panels.

To return to the question of political will, Seanad reform was in the 2007 programme for Government in the year I was elected to the Seanad. In the same year a Minister, former Deputy Gormley, initiated an all-party working group on Seanad reform based on the Mary O'Rourke report I mentioned. There was a momentum for reform at that stage but it ran out of steam as it was overtaken when the true extent of the economic crisis became apparent. It is unfortunate as in that period of 2007 and 2008, we could have seen significant reform introduced through legislation that would have addressed some of the very serious and justified critiques of the manner of election and the business we do in the Seanad.

This was overtaken by the announcement made by the Taoiseach in October 2009 that he would seek to abolish the Seanad, which caused some surprise. The position was subsequently followed by other political parties, and in Labour we took the more nuanced position that a referendum should be carried out as part of a broader process of reform and as part of the Constitutional Convention process.

We know that if the legislation is passed, the referendum is likely to be held in autumn this year. It is important to say that this 24th Seanad has already become a stronger and more worthwhile institution in the short time since we have been elected. With the Taoiseach's choice of nominees, he moved away from a traditional party hack appointment system-----