John Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill and commend Deputy Tuffy and others on outlining their views in a frank way. It is good that Deputies are not afraid to speak their minds and are not too worried about the Whip.

All of a sudden the Seanad has become a monster of which we must rid ourselves but it has served the State well over the years.

Every political party has used the Seanad to get members elected to the Dáil. In the past, Deputies who lost their seats and new candidates for political parties utilised membership of the Seanad to be elected to the Lower House. There is nothing wrong with providing for such an opportunity.

The Seanad probably needs to be reformed and many reports have been published on reform, most recently in 2004, 2002 and 1997. None of these reports recommended abolition of the Seanad or increasing the powers of the Upper House as to do so could lead to legislative gridlock. The reports, however, recommended that the Seanad assume a number of additional roles, including scrutiny of EU and other legislation, to which Deputy Calleary alluded. They also proposed changes in the composition of the House to better reflect the population of the country, for example, by having representatives from Northern Ireland, as well as representation for emigrants and various voluntary organisations. This would have resulted in a less politically motivated Seanad Chamber.

The Taoiseach has decided to go on a solo run on this matter and appears to have secured the support of the Cabinet for abolishing the Seanad. From listening to speakers from the Government parties in the past two days, it is clear that he does not enjoy the support of Government backbench Deputies.

We should be concerned about democracy. According to a Sunday newspaper published last weekend, many Cabinet members believe the country is being run by a group of four wise men consisting of the Taoiseach, Tánaiste and Ministers for Public Expenditure and Reform and Finance. It appears other Ministers have little say in the proposals that come before the Cabinet and what the four wise men say is law. We have a form of dictatorship in which four people are running the country. The Government, through its decisions to abolish town councils and the Seanad, is proposing to remove several strands of our democracy. This is not in the best interests of the country or its population.

On a lighter note, the first Senate in Ireland met in Wexford in 1798. In 1998, when we celebrated the bicentenary of the 1798 Rising, the wise men of the 1798 committee decided to re-establish the Wexford Senate. At the time, the committee came up with the fund-raising idea of inviting people to pay £2,000 to become a senator for life. I paid the sum required, as a result of which I am now a senator for life. It is amazing that I had to buy my way into the senate, while we are now trying to defend the rights of the Seanad to ensure people will not have to buy their way into politics.

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