David Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I assure the Acting Chairman that my time is not up. It is largely thanks to Senator Crown that my time is not up. It is not up in this joint either because I will be running in the next election even if 1.5 million voters are added to dilute us to sweet damn-all. The Government should not pretend that is reform, however.

The Chief Whip's reference to the Constitutional Convention is laughable. The Seanad was kept out of its remit. I managed to squeak in a proposal on the Presidency and it was forced to examine it. We hear that the recommendations are to be referred to the appropriate committee. If the Chief Whip is not too shy to let us know, it would not damage us intellectually if we knew what committee that was. Ninety-five percent of the people at the convention voted in support of the recommendation. The Chief Whip's party voted on it and it produced a Bill on the matter. The party politics started when Fianna Fáil axed the Bill, but it then went back to a committee, which made the same suggestions. But the Government still will not touch it. Why? Because it wants to hold onto it for itself.

With regard to financial arrangements, the Chief Whip must have been joking. I am surprised he was not ashamed to show the disparity between what the political parties can garner and what Independent Members are allowed to get. It is even more disgraceful in presidential elections. Senators can relax, however, because I would not take the Presidency if, as Sean O'Casey would say, they went down on their bended knees.