Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West, Labour)

If ever there was an issue on which the Dáil should co-operate it is that of enhancing the work Deputies and Senators do in the Oireachtas. The Minister for Defence, Deputy Willie O'Dea, said earlier that he has been a Member of this House for 30 years but the reality is that for most of us our careers are potentially very short. Many of the Deputies who lost their seats in the 2007 election had only been here for five years. I read at that time that the average amount of time Deputies spend here is becoming shorter.

We are not the only ones who make sacrifices. The staff who work in Leinster House make the same sacrifices as us. It is the same in other careers but we give up spending time with one's family. We are away from our families. Time goes quicker when one is a politician and it is a waste to be in here and not use one's time effectively representing the people who elected us. That is something we must co-operate on because if we do not, we all lose out, a point which has been made.

There is talk now about our electoral system but the electoral system is not the problem. Policies and ideas have caused problems in politics. We do not need a referendum to change political policies but there is a problem with the way the Dáil operates. Our failure to reform the procedures in this House and give ourselves more powers and more time to act effectively on behalf of our constituents is fuelling a drive to change our electoral system which may be a significant mistake in the long term and may make Parliament even more remote.

The reality is that our system is the most democratic it can be, with the voter having the ultimate say in terms of who gets elected and which parties are represented in the Dáil. Visitors to this country often remark admiringly on the type of one-to-one contact between Irish voters and public representatives that is not available in other countries. All the proposals that have been put forward afford the voter less say and are less democratic. It will be a loss to democracy if we move away from our current system.

There are steps that can be taken that will make substantial changes to our electoral system unnecessary. Above all, we must stand up for ourselves as politicians. There is too much playing along with the agenda that Deputies spend their time running after constituents and so on. It is important that we are in contact with our constituents and that we are aware of their concerns. For example, a report was launched yesterday by the Joint Committee on Social and Family Affairs with proposals to assist those home owners who are in negative equity and experiencing difficulties in repaying their mortgages. The reason that issue was raised so often by so many Members is that we are all contacted on a regular basis by constituents who have concerns in that regard.

We must enhance our role by focusing on the positive achievements of the political system. We should not forget that it was this system, through the Dáil and Seanad, which brought stability to the State after the Civil War that followed the attainment of national independence. In more recent times, we have had the DIRT inquiry, our contribution to the peace process and cross-party support for various progressive initiatives and legislation. This Bill seeks to allow us to do more of that. We must seek greater powers that will allow us to be more effective in our role as legislators and as local constituency representatives in terms of how the business of the Dáil is scheduled and organised. The Government is only working against itself if it does not take on this Bill either in its current form or in some amended form. We must stand up for the work we do in this House. Otherwise, we are merely helping to diminish our role.

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