Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)

Ten minutes each.

I welcome the Labour Party motion before the House tonight. No doubt there is a good and decent set of proposals contained in the motion but if we are to change politics in Ireland, this must go much further.

Since I entered Parliament in 2002 there have been few changes in the way it works, in the way Deputies work, in the committee system and in the workings of Irish politics. As we approach difficult economic times where there will be cutbacks across every sector of politics, the public sector and every Department, politicians must lead by example. If we are to do that, there must be major changes within the political system.

Fine Gael has come up with a strong and radical set of proposals in its New Politics document which was launched more than a year ago. At the time, that document proposing the abolition of Seanad Éireann and a reduction of 20 TDs in Dáil Éireann caused much debate up and down the country. As a party, we share many of the views and aims mentioned in tonight's motion.

What has happened in recent years is much to blame for current economic circumstances. In this Parliament no one could be held to account. Deputy Stanton will outline in his contribution proposals for Dáil reform, but I want to talk about the quangos and semi-State bodies where people got away with blue murder in recent years because there was no accountability and no one was brought in here to be questioned in the committee system. Had there been accountability in the political system over the past 15 years we would not face the economic circumstances we now face.

The Fianna Fáil policies caused the so-called golden circle of builders and bankers. The citizen, the main person who should have been looked after in this Parliament, was left to one side and the so-called golden circle of builders, bankers and developers were all looked after. That amounts to complete political failure and it lies at the heart of our economic collapse. It lies at the heart of government also because the Government was responsible for what happened.

Under the Fine Gael proposal, the New Politics document, we can reverse that culture. We must restore trust to the people. We must bring the citizen, communities and interested bodies into our political heart and into the political system and make them feel that this Parliament belongs to them as much as it belongs to the politicians who are elected to the House. We must make them feel that their input is appreciated. We must ensure that the citizen's voice is heard. The citizen's voice is something that has been lost within this Parliament. We want to tackle the weaknesses in the political system and create a credible parliament. Compared to the way other parliaments operate their political systems, the Irish Parliament is way down the Richter scale.

We must make Governments accountable. They want to pass the buck and make it somebody else's responsibility. There are numerous examples of that. When one sees Ministers setting up quangos to take on responsibility there is no accountability for the bodies set up. That has happened wholesale within this Parliament.

I will give two examples, the Freedom of Information Acts and the whistleblowers' legislation. The Minister outlined it, and it is in the programme for government, and Deputy Scanlon spoke about it. In 1997, Fine Gael introduced the first Freedom of Information Bill. It was strong, and it was there for the citizen to find out information about decision-making and what was happening within Government, different Departments, semi-State bodies or whatever. The Government, in 2003, came back and took the Freedom of Information Act that we had enacted in 1997 a step backwards by placing restrictions on the citizen being able to find out information. It was a bad step to take.

The other area is whistleblowers' legislation. The Fine Gael Party and the general public believe that if there was strong legislation put in place to protect persons within the workplace we would not be in the circumstances we are in today. People would have felt that they would be protected if they wanted to highlight issues within the banking system and within Departments, especially within the area of banking. We must have strong robust legislation to protect the worker to give him or her the opportunity to come forward and highlight issues relevant to the Dáil and the Parliament, and to feel protected in doing so.

Many issues are raised with regard to wrongdoing in Departments. Employees who come forward to highlight issues do not feel protected. This has to change and a Fine Gael-led Government will make this a priority and will introduce a Bill to address the issue.

If people do not have an opportunity to highlight issues, they do not feel the Parliament is relevant and, as it stands today, this Parliament is not relevant. We need cost savings in the Parliament and to create a lean and more fit-for-purpose type of Parliament. This is lacking, which is highlighted to me by members of the public who state the Parliament we have does not work and needs to be more efficient and relevant. It is not enough to pay lip-service to what Members have stated this evening. I have no doubt that most Members want to see the Chamber and the Oireachtas being more efficient; we have to grasp the issue and take action. There is no use talking about it.

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