Séamus Healy (Tipperary South, Workers and Unemployed Action Group) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this legislation. Historically the socialist movement has favoured a unicameral, or single-chamber, legislature based on universal adult suffrage. It has opposed second chambers based on restricted franchise or hereditary privilege, as is the case with the British House of Lords. This position is based on the principle of an equal say in government for all, irrespective of wealth or social status, and that legislators should be democratically accountable to all. I agree with this position. Today these principles are being circumvented by other means, including the funding of political parties by very wealthy interests, the control of information and the media by very wealthy interests and the evasion of real accountability by politicians.

The problem with the Bill is that it is largely a political stunt. There is no commitment from the Government to real Oireachtas reform, particularly real Dáil reform. I am sure the Government will point to some changes that have been made since it came to power, including Friday sittings and the Topical Issue debate. The Friday sittings are a complete sham, with no Leaders' Questions, no Order of Business and no votes. It is simply an expensive sham. It is difficult to get a Topical Issue accepted for debate and if it is accepted the question or issue will almost certainly be answered by a Minister of State, almost always not from the Department relevant to the question, reading from a prepared script and answering questions from another prepared script. This is not, in my view, Dáil reform.

The main duty of Deputies and Senators is to legislate, but there is no requirement to attend Leinster House to draw one's salary. Even when a Deputy is present in Leinster House there is no requirement to vote for or against legislation or proposals or to register a formal abstention. There would be an absolute outcry if an employee in wider society was not required to turn up for work in order to be paid. Some politicians have attempted to confuse this issue with the assertion they are present in the building but not in the Dáil Chamber, but this is completely beside the point. A constituent is entitled to know the attitude of his or her Deputy on every Bill. Under current arrangements in the House a Deputy can evade such scrutiny. This requires the most urgent reform.

In modern times Deputies, and particularly Ministers, who act in the interests of the wealthy need have no personal fear of defeat in the next election. They will be looked after by wealthy interests with directorships and post-retirement employment. With Dáil terms set at five years it is possible for parties and individuals to promise the earth at election time and, having been elected, proceed with exactly the opposite policies for the full term. This is a huge difficulty and brings the Chamber, the Oireachtas, politics generally and politicians into disrepute. We have a perfect example of this with the two parties in government, who gave various commitments, but the minute they were elected they came in here and effectively took the clothes off Fianna Fáil and the Green Party and are now comfortably implementing their failed policies, which are the direct opposite of the policies they stood for during the course of the last election campaign.

Other jurisdictions have counterweights to this situation. The title Teachta Dála means politicians are in this House to vote in place of their constituents. If they fail to do so there should be a facility to have them recalled. A facility must and should be put in place whereby a Deputy can be recalled by constituents following the presentation of a registered and scrutinised petition for a by-election. This is the nub of the question of accountability in the House and the Oireachtas generally, and such a system should be brought into being.

The guillotining of debates in the House is now commonplace. A commitment was made by both Government parties that business here would be done in a transparent manner and guillotines would not be used, as they had been used too frequently and regularly by the previous Government, but this Government would not do so. As we all know, we have guillotine after guillotine.

There may be emergencies in which guillotines are necessary. In such situations, there should be a requirement that at least two thirds of Deputies must vote for the guillotine. This would ensure the guillotine's use in emergency situations only.

The Standing Orders of the Dáil are stacked against small party Deputies and Independents. For example, no Independent or Deputy from a small party can address the Chamber on the Order of Business. This unsustainable and undemocratic situation should be addressed immediately to ensure that their voices are heard.

The Government's energy, particularly that of the Labour Party, should be used to introduce the kinds of reform to which I referred. This would be in the best interests of the country's labour and socialist traditions. Such reforms should take precedence over the Seanad issue. Instead, the Bill to abolish the Seanad represents a hypocritical, populist stunt.

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