Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Seanad Éireann has an election that is run internally. It is a most unusual election because the bulk of the Members of the Seanad are elected by politicians. It is, quite frankly, a very difficult place to get elected to because, for starters, you have to canvass politicians. There is oversight of that process. Ballot papers are sent out in brown paper envelopes that are subject to being torn apart of delivered when it is raining. Who is overseeing that, ensuring the privacy of the ballot box and ensuring that there is no one over your head deciding who or what you are voting for? Who seals the thing and who delivers it? We are going through a system run by An Post that cannot absolutely guarantee that these ballad papers are returned. There is a huge issue there.

I want to be very clear that I am not casting aspersions or questioning anything that has been done in the past or how it has been done. My experience of the process is that it has been done well, but we have to move with the times. Is this whole election and the conduct of if something that the commission has even talked about? Is it something the Department has talked about? Is it something on which the commission has engaged with the Houses and the Clerks to the Houses? Clearly, there are constitutional provisions for the way an election is conducted so there may be a need for referenda on changes there. It is a space at which one needs to look. I do not have all the answers but the process certainly needs to be modernised. Will Mr. O'Leary share his thoughts on that matter, and more importantly, on how he will interact with both Departments and with the Seanad office? Will he indicate if he has any plans in that regard?