Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

As the Taoiseach is aware, Sinn Féin seeks the abolition of the Seanad in its current form. However, it takes serious issue with the manner in which the Taoiseach has dealt with this matter. I have asked him a number of times to include this matter for discussion in the Constitutional Convention but he has refused to do so. I attended the Constitutional Convention session at which the citizen delegates were limited to discussing electoral reform. In his response to Teachta Martin, the Taoiseach stated this is about changing the way politics works. My party has put forward a number of proposals for political reform that it has sent to the Government. I ask the Taoiseach to examine them seriously because I have not been consulted on the political reforms the Taoiseach claims to wish to bring in. While one reads a lot of these in the media and promises have been made a number of times that leaders of the Opposition will be brought in, consulted, engaged in discussions and be part of the process, this has not happened. Sinn Féin is putting forward proposals to introduce equality proofing for spending priorities, to look at how the Parliament, the Executive and public bodies work, to extend votes in presidential elections to citizens living in the North and to Irish citizens living and working abroad, as well as bringing into this Chamber speaking rights - for those who want them - for Northern MPs. This a large pile of stuff on which the Taoiseach could easily consult Sinn Féin in the first instance and then bring it forward to this Chamber.

I must state I find hard to take seriously Teachta Martin on this issue. Since 1970, there have been 12 reports that proposed reform of the Seanad, not one of which was implemented. Teachta Martin was in government for 14 years and Fianna Fáil did nothing to reform the Seanad but in many ways, it used it to reward political cronies. During the last election campaign, its manifesto called for the abolition of the Seanad and it received a mandate to do so-----

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