Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Bill. While listening to some of the contributions that have been made over the past couple of days on this, there might be a temptation to forget that we are debate a Bill to allow a referendum. That is the most important point. I am sure the debate on the merits or otherwise of the decision that will be taken afterwards, and the debate that will take place in public, will be energetic and those on opposite sides will have their say.

The Bill before the House is in keeping with the programme for Government and it is also in keeping with the manifestos of the parties in government.

Some people may find this Bill has caused shock and awe but that arises from the Government keeping a promise. These people are entitled to take issue with the fact that the Government is doing what it stated it would in the programme for Government but there are people in this House who take issue with everything the Government does or, in some cases, has not been able to do until now.

I stood for the Seanad and it was a fairly enlightening experience. I hope I never have to repeat it and, to be perfectly honest, I would not wish it on my worst enemy because of the manner in which the Seanad is elected, how candidates seek a nomination and the way one must traverse the Twenty-six Counties to meet local authority representatives. Anybody who comes through that system has a massive achievement under his or her belt because when one is dealing with professional politicians, who make up the bulk of the Seanad's electoral college, it is no easy achievement to come out the other end. It has been mentioned that some very good people have come from the Seanad and there have been some exceptionally notable speeches and contributions. That is all well and good but the Government, as part of an election manifesto, gave a commitment which is being partially fulfilled now. It will be up to the people as to what happens to the Seanad.

There is an issue with the decision being taken by the people, particularly with the mechanism put in place when the debate starts. There is a ludicrous position in this country whereby every democratically elected Member of Dáil Éireann can be in favour of an issue but when it is put to a referendum, 50% of debating time may be given to people with no representation in here, or in some cases practically no representation in here. Such people have 50% of the available time in which to formulate erroneous, spurious and sometimes outlandish commentary and reasons for people to vote against an issue that would be in the common good. I have mentioned on Second Stage of previous Bills to amend the Constitution that the Government must examine this issue of media coverage being given on a 50/50 basis without any cognisance being taken of the Dáil's make-up. The debate allowed in referenda should be covered by the referendum commission, which should be placed on a more permanent basis, and the rules should be proportional to the representation in the Dáil. It should certainly be proportionate to the Deputies in favour or against issues that come before the country by way of referendum.

It is ridiculous that referendums are used as a "Lazarus-type" effect by people whose political parties have gone up in smoke or into cold storage. This will happen again in the case of Seanad abolition, and we will hear from people whose political parties no longer exist trying to reinvent themselves. We will have to forget that in 1992 these people were the first to advocate abolition of the Seanad as they have now gone the road to Damascus and seen the Seanad as something that should be retained. They will get 50% of the debate, along with their colleagues, to bombard RTE, TV3, The Irish Timesand the Irish Independent. It will be the oxygen desired by some people in trying to get back to the Dáil. That is a cynical use of the original intention to provide balance in a constitutional debate, and there may be no bearing on the issues at hand.

A previous speaker from Sinn Féin is no longer in the Chamber but she machine-gunned the Government and Fianna Fáil with a litany of insults, personal and otherwise, which cannot go unchallenged. She referred to the dominant ideology of this House but that does not fall from the sky; it falls from ballot boxes and it is insulting to the people who voted for me, the Leas-Cheann Comhairle and other Deputies in the House to have somebody suggest somehow that we should not be here. She implied that because I am a member of Fine Gael or others are members of the Labour Party, they should not be here.

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