Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West, Labour)

I intend to take some poetic licence and I hope the Minister will not mind, given the day that is in it. This evening in the Seanad there was apparently a highly emotional conclusion to the debate on the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Bill. It was an historic moment and I noted that points of view were aired in the Seanad that were not necessarily aired when the Bill was debated in the Dáil. As someone who was a Member of the Seanad for five years, I believe it plays an important role in the Oireachtas. In that context, I noticed that the Minister was mentioned in an article that appeared in The Irish Times today on the issue of Seanad reform. The article gave the impression that the Minister was unable to achieve cross-party consensus in his sub-committee on the issue, of which I was a member. However, that was not my impression from our final meeting, as I thought there was consensus that progress could be made in certain areas, including broadening the franchise of those who elect the university Senators to all third level graduates. The Minister might outline what steps he has taken in this regard, because issues pertaining to the mayor and the Seanad are related.

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