Labhrás Ó Murchú (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

In a few moments we will be discussing a Private Members' motion tabled by the Labour Party Senators which deals with struggling towns throughout the country. It is a very good motion and exceptionally comprehensive. It deals with the real issues in the real Ireland. We are talking about towns in which small businesses have their doors padlocked and there are shutters on the windows. Even those that have survived are wondering whether they can pay the commercial rates charged and insurance premiums. What we are seeing is a haemorrhaging of young people from these towns to the four corners of the earth looking for work. Some 140 Garda stations have been closed down. The greatest insult is that these towns are to have their statutory voice removed by having the local council abolished. I was wondering on Sunday morning, after the referendum, whether people were reflecting on what way their lives had changed as a result of the referendum.

Will democracy have been improved in some way? Reform is in the air; it is like a mandate. It is like a sedative, but it does not change anything outside this House. People will not be jumping up and down, unless we do our work.

I was listening to Michael O'Regan, political correspondent of The Irish Times, who made a lot of good sense in one sentence. He said what we needed was more policies and less politics. The greatest reform we could have is to loosen the strings of control and put the Whip aside on occasions. We should not force people to press buttons and fill seats when they have a different view of what is being put before them. The people will be looking for this. They will not be looking for gloating or grandiose grandstanding. What they want is for us to do our job. In fairness to the Seanad, there is less personality politics in this House than in the Dáil. There is greater scrutiny of legislation. One statistic I came across is that in 2009, 1,201 amendments to legislation were accepted. If that had not happened, that legislation would be law with all of the flaws contained in it. We should, therefore, forget about patting ourselves on the back. We should do one thing, namely, keep an eye on the real ball, an ear to the ground and, above all else, give the service - pay or no pay - that we want to give and promised to give to the people.