Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I very much welcome the advancement of a Seanad referendum, which was a commitment the Taoiseach personally, and both parties in government, gave in advance of the election and I am pleased to see it progressing.

The Taoiseach spoke about the establishment of a referendum commission. It is important that the commission is up and running at an early stage but considering the number of referenda this Government has held and intends to hold, has the Taoiseach given any thought to putting a referendum commission on a more permanent basis or even establishing a broader electoral commission? We all know that in our local authority areas there are disparities in the Registers of Electors. People are turning up to vote in referenda only to find their name has been removed from the list. A body of work needs to be done in that regard, possibly by an electoral commission.

The Taoiseach stated also that Government will comply with the various judgments from the courts. I welcome that but has the Government any intention to consider legislative or potential constitutional change arising from those Supreme Court judgments in regard to the way referenda should be run?

On the issue of electoral reform being considered by the Constitutional Convention, obviously, if there is only one House the way this House is elected comes under even greater scrutiny. What is the Government's timescale for that, considering the electoral reform proposals of the convention?

On the day the Taoiseach finishes the last official event of the Irish Presidency of the European Council, and I congratulate him and the Government on a very successful Presidency, he is in a relatively unique position in this House to have seen many parliaments across this Continent in operation in recent months, many of which represent populations of a similar size to this country with one House. What is the Taoiseach's view on the other countries of a similar size that operate a unicameral system and their effectiveness?

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