Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this important Electoral (Amendment) (Dáil Constituencies) Bill 2012. I wish to reflect on this reforming legislation, which, like the Health (Amendment) Bill discussed last week, represents another indication of fulfilment of a pre-election promise by the coalition Government, one for which the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Hogan, deserves credit and support.

It is a pity Deputy Donnelly has left the Chamber because I wanted to point out something to him. I listened to his speech earlier on Dáil reform. When I first came to the House I spoke a good deal about Dáil reform as something that was badly needed. In a way it is nice that we are getting a chance to discuss Dáil reform now and that is what some of these Bills are about. Local government reform is being planned and an associated document has been produced. Major changes are planned and a timescale has been set out. Some consultation is still required but major change is under way and this represents reform of local politics. Public sector reform is taking place as is reform of the committee system. The way we do business in the House is being reformed and this is why I wanted to raise the matter with Deputy Stephen Donnelly. I have been embarrassed on many occasions while sitting here during the time of previous Governments when the Order of Business would take between two and three hours while we were acting like children, shouting and roaring and voting up to ten times simply on the Order of Business or the Dáil schedule for the day. It was lunacy. I do not blame anyone for it but the system was ridiculous and needed to be reformed. I accept that some people may believe that the Order Business is somewhat short now and they do not get a chance to intervene, but at least it has some more order to it than before. We can get on with the real business of the day. The Order of Business now takes half an hour and it is not embarrassing to sit here because generally we deal with our business in a more efficient and proper way before we move on to the rest of the business of the day. This represents proper reform.

There are Friday sittings now and this change gives any Member a chance to bring forward his or her own Bill. One need not use the time on a Tuesday or Wednesday evening but at one time that was the only opportunity one had to bring forward one's own Bill and have it debated. Now that has changed and there is a full Friday sitting of three hours to introduce a Bill. Not everyone turns up on that day and often the Chamber is not full but at least the opportunity is there to present one's own Bill and one's own thoughts, whether one is an Independent, a member of Sinn Féin, Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael or the Labour Party. The opportunity is there but it was not always there in the past.

We have established the Fiscal Advisory Council, a major reform. I accept it was part of the last IMF deal but it was also something Fine Gael and the Labour Party had called for well in advance of the last election and well in advance of the direction to create it. I strongly believe that if the Fiscal Advisory Council had been in place we might not be in the budgetary position we are in now. Everyone in the country refers to the banking crisis and the bailout and many suggest that this is what caused all our problems but it has not caused all our problems. I have said it before and I will say it again - if we never had a banking crisis we would still have a crisis in this country in respect of the budget and the deficit because the short-term money made from housing and construction during the boom was invested in long-term decisions, but that money was not guaranteed in a long-term sense. I have no doubt that an independent advisory council would have helped us to prevent that from happening. This is the reason we have a deficit of €15 billion or €16 billion this year, which must be addressed in the next three or four budgets. It is not simply because of the banking crisis. People should understand this a little more. It is hard to accept all the cuts and changes in our budgets and services and the extra taxes if we do not fully tease this out. That was the big mistake of the last Government.

Let us check the figures of every Department from 2001 to 2008. Expenditure ballooned completely and utterly out of control and this is the reason we have had tough budgets in recent years and why it will continue in the years ahead. It is not only because of the banking crisis. Dáil reform could have helped to prevent this and thankfully we are getting such reform now with some of these changes.

The Minister is bringing forward other reform relating to the funding of politics. This is badly needed to help repair the damage that has been done to our reputation as politicians. Politics needs these changes. The introduction of gender quotas is another positive development. I realise there are many in the House who are unsure whether we need them or whether they will work, but they are needed as a temporary measure. We may not need them in ten or 20 years time but they could be reviewed at any stage. Anyway, they are needed to try to correct a wrong that exists now. There is an imbalance here and there is no harm in bringing in quotas to try to address this in the short term and to get a fix on it.

There has been a good deal of reform. I accept that more reform is needed with regard to the way the House does its business. I was part of the Opposition for almost ten years and some days I was pulling my hair out because of the way the House worked. The Government has a fair say in how Parliament works but eventually we might get to a situation where the Parliament has more powers. That is probably something we all aspire to. I agree with the comment on tabling amendments. It is embarrassing for Ministers. There is a serving and a former Minister in the House at the moment. It is embarrassing when one cannot even debate an amendment because it might result in a charge on the State. That is crazy. We should all put our heads together and sort that out. It does not suit anyone. A Minister need not accept a given amendment after the discussion but at least we should be able to discuss it. This happens on Committee Stage but it does not suit anyone and it is something that several people have raised. This too could be addressed as part of the reform. Each step of reform is a step in the right direction and I congratulate the Minister on this Bill, among other things.

The need for the political system to reform and renew itself for the challenges and opportunities of 21st century society has been evident to many for some time but sadly not acted upon. The great global recession of recent years has produced a challenge to the broad political class here and abroad, among many other players, with regard to their role in what happened and their ability to act quickly and decisively to stem the crisis.

Despite the failures and challenges of recent years we should remember that politics is important and it can and does work. We cannot risk a further erosion in the standing of politics and political participation, whether from the perspective of local or national elected representatives, political volunteers or party activists, canvassers or voters. To query the need or role of politics is to query the existence of democracy and the personal freedom it brings, a freedom that many billions in the world do not enjoy today and would gladly die for in order to bring about a better future for their children or grandchildren.

I accept that democracy can be costly and time consuming and that it can lead to slower decisions, but there is no better way. Democracy is fair and right. It may not be the quickest system of governance but it is fair and right. Good politics practised by well-intentioned politicians has brought many enduring achievements in the country which will last long after newspapers gather dust and Internet discussion boards go out of date. Among these, peace in the North and increased contact between both parties on this island and between Britain and Ireland stands out. Many former taoisigh and Ministers from many parties are to thank for nurturing that process over 30 years. The common sense of John A. Costello and Sean Lemass in taking on board the recommendations of a young T. K. Whitaker to reform and open up our economy to Europe and the world in the bleak 1950s shows that political vision and decisions are important and that power does not always rest in the permanent Civil Service, as cynics of politics often claim. The work of the United Nations and the European Union, institutions dreamt up and operated by politicians, has prevented a third global war for more than 60 years. Even with many regional conflicts causing concern this is noteworthy and not often given the recognition it deserves.

It is important to reflect on why politics matters in the present, past and future. The education of politics is something we need to get to. Electoral reform is something we tend to discuss but we need to bring the people with us. I welcome the move to consider lowering the voting age but there are people of all ages who do not participate in politics because they do not always grasp it. Before I became a county councillor I had no idea what politics was about or what local councillors did. I had thought they were people who wrote in newspapers during the week, but in fact they have a very important role. We also have a role to educate people on the system of local government, national government and European politics and government. We need to do so at every opportunity. We could use our libraries or post offices to get information out to people about how it all works. If one understands the workings then one can appreciate why tough decisions are made sometimes but many people do not always grasp what is behind decision-making. I have said as much in opposition and I say it again in government. We have a duty to inform people how the system works and to bring them with us.

I am pleased the Government is following through on its commitment in the programme for Government to bring about a new politics. We cannot ask the public or private sectors to be leaner, meaner, more efficient and less costly but not practise what we preach. This is not easy but change is never easy. It will be painful for some but many of the changes brought on by the great global recession have been tough on many people and families, including many in my area. There are people in need in all counties.

The reduction of the number of Members from 166 to 158 is to be welcomed. It represents a sensible compromise between the current system and the calls for a more radical cut in the numbers of the House. The primary purpose of the Dáil is to elect from among its Members a Taoiseach, who will proceed to form a Government from among the Members, with the option of two Senators entering Cabinet as well.

That is the current system under the Constitution. Any fundamental change to the manner in which we select a Taoiseach and Cabinet would have to be addressed in the Constitution by way of a referendum of the people. We must, therefore, work within the system we have. It is important that any future Taoiseach, in forming a Cabinet, have as wide a choice as possible of people in terms of talent, experience, age, gender and geography. A reduction from 166 to 158 Members, although not as radical as some would have hoped for or suggested, is a good compromise when viewed in this context and in the light of the likelihood of a referendum on the future of the Seanad. I admit that in the past I was one of a number of people who called for a greater cut in the number of Deputies. However, following a discussion I had a number of months ago with a wise man, whom I will not name, I now acknowledge the necessity for a critical mass in this House. The formation of a Government and selection of Ministers and Ministers of State and an Opposition require that a particular number be elected to this House. It may sound great to say there should be only 50, 60 or 90 Members, but without sufficient numbers, we would not be able to select the people needed to do the job. I did not always believe that was true, but I have now come around to believing it.

Deputy Stephen Donnelly stated politics did not work. However, there have been improvements, with more to follow. People need to be more honest in their politics; there needs to be less spin and they should get down to the nitty gritty. The committees are the best place to tease out issues, at budget and other times, with Ministers. The Ministers who have appeared before the Joint Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation have always be open to proper discussion, leaving aside officialdom, and teasing out and often accepting amendments. That is what we need. In fairness, Ministers in the previous Government were also willing to take on board amendments. I am glad we have moved on to a position where Ministers actually make decisions. I recall when sitting on the Opposition benches hearing that owing to partnership talks, decisions on this, that or the other could not be made. At least, now under the Government we have real reform, with Ministers making decisions and being held accountable for what they do. That is reform.

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