Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)

We should begin by asking ourselves why we are holding this debate this morning. The reason is that for more than one and a half years, the Government has shown general contempt for the public, the electorate and the courts. This is reflected in Mr. Justice Kearns's ruling yesterday. In his summing up, Mr. Justice Kearns stated: "Far from the Court 'tearing asunder' the provisions of the Constitution by adjudicating upon this application, it is the ongoing failure to move the writ for this by-election since June 2009 which offends the terms and spirit of the Constitution and its framework for democratic representation." Mr. Justice Kearns is suggesting that the Government, through its failure to call these by-elections, is causing a constitutional crisis by not performing its constitutional duties. Members of this Parliament had to go to the courts to find redress as a result of a Government which would not fulfil its functions.

In the past 12 to 18 months we have witnessed the Government dragging the Irish taxpayer and electorate through the courts at a cost, which I believe, the Minister and the Taoiseach should come to the House to explain. How much is this costing the taxpayer? Ultimately, how much will the appeal and ruling amount to?

We are in this position as a result of two distinct problems. A practice has arisen, developed by Fianna Fáil, to suspend at all costs the calling of by-elections. This situation has created a legislative vacuum. The reason this vacuum has been created is that there has been an obvious failure to legislate for what is a predictable and solvable problem. By-elections are caused for several reasons, including the death of a Member, the resignation of a Member and following European elections in which vacancies have arisen, such as in the case of Pat "the Cope" Gallagher. The latter is a predictable vacancy and a predictable timeframe should be in place to ensure that after a European election, if a Member of this House is elected to the European Parliament, it should be a fixable problem. After the summer recess, the seat vacated by that Member should be filled in September. It is measurable and predictable and should be part of the day-to-day operations of this House. The Labour Party has made many suggestions on this matter, similar to the Fine Gael suggestion, that there is a reasonable expectation a seat should be filled within three to six months of it being vacated. At the heart of this matter is electoral reform and political reform in this country. It is notable that the line Minister with responsibility for this matter is not in the House.

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