Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputies for their contributions to this debate. I welcome this opportunity to remind the House of the very real and significant political reforms initiated by this Government since it came to office in 2011. We have been carrying out our radical programme of reform at the same time as we have been bringing about a remarkable transformation in the country's economic fortunes. We have embarked on what can be fairly described as the biggest programme of political reform since the passing of the Constitution in 1937.

I will begin with the Constitution. The Government has held six referendums in its three years of office: on the powers of Dáil committees; judicial salaries; the Treaty on Stability, Co-ordination and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union; children's rights; the establishment of the Court of Appeal; and the abolition of the Seanad. This is a much more intensive programme of constitutional reform than has ever been attempted by a Government since the 1937 Constitution was adopted. The Government is committed to continuing its programme of constitutional reform in 2015.

Following the Seanad referendum, the Taoiseach committed the Government to working to improve the operation of the Upper House and make it more effective. Earlier this year, the Government, through the Leader of the Seanad, submitted to the Seanad Committee on Procedure and Privileges a package of measures designed to do this. The Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Kelly, has outlined these proposals to the House. They focus on the Seanad's legislative and vocational roles, while also acknowledging its role in respect of EU scrutiny. The proposals suggest further ways in which the Seanad can engage with the Government, within the parameters of the Constitution, as well as work jointly with the Dáil through the Oireachtas committee system.

The Taoiseach also committed the Government to bringing forward legislation to implement the 1979 amendment to Article 18 of the Constitution on the election of Members of Seanad Éireann by institutions of higher education in the State. Earlier this year, the Government published the general scheme of a Bill to achieve this. Again, the Minister, Deputy Kelly, set out the details so I will not repeat them, except to say that it is a poor reflection that the amendment to the Constitution which enabled this to take place was passed in 1979 - some 35 years ago - when one of the parties opposite was in government. Following public consultation on the general scheme, the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government expects to publish the Bill to extend the university franchise next year.

It is proper, when discussing reform of the Seanad, that we should reflect briefly on Dáil reform. As Government Chief Whip, I play a central role in advancing the Government's ambitious agenda in this regard, which is being introduced on a phased basis during this Administration's period in office. The Government has brought forward extensive packages of reforms since it took office in March 2011. The first phase of Dáil reform was introduced in 2011 and included an additional Leaders' Questions session on Thursdays; monthly Friday sittings to give Deputies the opportunity to have their Private Members' Bills debated in the House; replacing the old Adjournment Debate with the Topical Issue Debate; and a procedure to allow Deputies raise issues with the Ceann Comhairle regarding replies to parliamentary questions.

The reforms also included several measures to improve the effectiveness of the committee structure. They included reducing the number of Oireachtas committees from 25 to 16 and introducing the pre-legislative review process to involve Oireachtas committees at an early stage in the development of legislation before a Bill was published. We established Joint Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions, chaired by a member of the Opposition, and allow MEPs to attend Oireachtas committee meetings. In 2012 the Oireachtas committee system was reviewed and further reforms were introduced to improve its effectiveness.

The second phase of Dáil reform was introduced in September 2013 and included a broad range of additional measures, including an expansion of the pre-legislative stage, an annual outline to the Dáil of Government priorities by the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste, followed by a detailed debate, and additional time for legislative debate in the standard Dáil week to help to reduce the need to guillotine debates on legislation.

In parallel with these ongoing reforms, the number of Dáil sitting days has been significantly increased since the change of Government by reducing the length of Dáil breaks at Christmas, Easter, bank holiday weekends and during the summer and by the introduction of regular Friday sittings. Any Deputy who has further reform proposals should contact me to discuss them and they will be considered as part of the ongoing process of Dáil reform.

In addition to progress in the area of political reform, the Government, through the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, has been pursuing a wide-ranging programme aimed at delivering open, accountable and ethical government. Many of the commitments in the area of political reform set out in the programme for Government and the public service reform plan are now in the delivery phase. Real progress has been made on several fronts, including extensive reform of freedom of information legislation, the introduction of legislation to protect whistleblowers, the provision of a detailed legislative framework for parliamentary inquiries and the extension of the Ombudsman's jurisdiction and powers.

The motion tabled by Opposition Deputies calls on the Government to take several steps to bring about Seanad reform. The Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government has outlined what the Government is doing in this area. The Opposition motion suggests the Government has not delivered on the commitment to reform the political system and ensure the Seanad is a modern and effective second chamber. However, it is fair to say the reforms of the Seanad put forward by the Government and outlined today, together with the ongoing programme of constitutional, Dáil and legislative reform, clearly show that the Government has delivered and continues to deliver on its promises of reform. As I stated at the beginning, it has been doing all this work while bringing about the dramatic recovery in Ireland's economic and fiscal position, as was demonstrated in the budget announced on Tuesday.

See this speech in context