Peter Mathews (Dublin South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

In the context of the questions raised, I am a newcomer to the Dáil and I am very honoured and privileged to serve the people - the whole people - of this country. However, I was shocked last year when, for example, in the Seanad and Dáil debates on the proposed abolition of the Seanad, a weird situation seemed to arise where the debates were not meaningful but were meaningless because a party whip was imposed on all Members of Government parties that they had to vote in a certain way. That is meaningless in a Parliament - it is illogical.

The Minister of State's own party is one that signed up the European People's Party's document of principles of two years ago, the title of which escapes me. Article 155 of that document has the meaning that, as a member and a signatory to the document, Fine Gael purports to uphold the principle of conscientious objection. It is a fundamental democratic principle that has been jettisoned. It is weird. I would like an answer to that question. The leadership of parties should not ever have iron fist control, down to blind obedience, over their members. That is unparliamentary, it is undemocratic and it is not right. This has to be examined because, otherwise, we are living in an unreality bubble where, if the numbers say so, the Government has complete control until the next election. That is wrong. Even in the most liberal countries, the principle of conscientious objection is upheld, but not in this Parliament.

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