Catherine Noone (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Taoiseach to the House for what is a very important debate. As we face into the referendum on the Seanad, it is important to be mindful that it is part of our parliamentary system which has, as other Senators have alluded to, on more than one occasion faced an uncertain future. The first national assembly established in Ireland, following the Act of Union, was a single Chamber body, Dáil Éireann, which convened in January 1919. It was only in 1922 that our parliamentary system became bicameral or dual-chambered with the establishment of Seanad Éireann. At the time it was an unusual move to jump from being unicameral to being bicameral and we were alone in that sense. However, in many respects Ireland has always been somewhat different.

While many countries entered into war, Ireland embraced neutrality. I do not follow the argument that just because a system suits one country, it works for all countries. The world is a little more complicated than there being any single correct answer. Unicameral and bicameral are not one-size-fits-all solutions. Different countries require different systems. In 2013 I am proud of our system while recognising, as other Senators have done, the shortfalls and the need for radical changes. I am proud of the work we achieve in this House. From the outset, Dáil Éireann resisted efforts by an assertive Seanad to encroach upon what Deputies saw as being properly their own territory. Tensions between the two Houses intensified after De Valera and Fianna Fáil came to power in 1932.

The manner in which the Free State Seanad was abolished and the decision to re-establish it, albeit in a different form in the 1937 Constitution, is also interesting in the context of the current debate. When the Free State Seanad was abolished in 1936, De Valera clearly indicated that the idea of a second Chamber was not anathema to him provided it could be shown that a second Chamber would be of value. De Valera then established a commission to investigate how it believed a second Chamber should function. This commission recommended that the second Chamber should have the power to regulate its own business and to elect its own members.