Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I join the Minister in paying tribute to, and thanking, the members and staff of the convention for their input over many weekends and in acknowledging the report. It affords us the opportunity to examine issues in a different light considering the recommendations that emanated from it. I am glad the Government made a comprehensive response to them.

I agree with the Government that we should maintain the current mix of constituencies and not be confined to large constituencies. The Constituency Commission only recently made recommendations regarding the number of Members and the ratio of representation throughout the country is consistent. The commission's recommendations were accepted by the House and these should not be altered in the immediate future.

The other issues, as the Minister of State said, could in the main be dealt with by an electoral commission. It is disappointing that the Bill to establish such a commission was not brought forward at an earlier date. I acknowledge the commitment to do so next year but the Minister of State did not outline a timeframe for that to be introduced. I ask that this be done speedily to ensure the commission is in place before the referenda announced earlier this week are held next May. It is important considering the failure by the Government to secure approval for amendments to the Constitution in recent referenda and. more particularly the apathy towards them, as reflected by voter turnout, indicates the need for a commission to meet urgently and make recommendations to address these issues.

I am conscious of the Government's commitment to reform but mindful of the lack of reform, despite significant statements during the previous election campaign and in the programme for Government, and the lack of follow through in that regard. The recent McNulty affair exposed the shallow nature of the Government's reform agenda and the misuse of that board appointment to maintain a slender Seanad majority shows the Government has not learned any lessons. The history of the Government's measures to date illustrates its failure to grasp the nettle of reform in a meaningful way.

I have said it on numerous occasions in respect of various debates relating to the passage of legislation across a wide range of areas, most recently with the passage of legislation to give effect to the amended charging regime associated with Irish Water. We know that this funding mechanism was devised by the EMC, which is a sub-committee of Cabinet and which does not have the sort of responsibility associated with such decisions which should in the main be made and agreed by Cabinet as a whole. It is very disappointing that this has been a strong feature of this Government's life and that the funding mechanism came from the pensions reserve, which meant that this Dáil had no role in direct questioning or seeking direct information pertaining to the setting up of Irish Water because of the fact that funds were raised in that way. We have seen the folly of that. The result has been a sorry debacle for the past 18 months. This was born within the EMC. There was no Cabinet participation. It is high time that the Government made a strong commitment that it will not use this body in the way it has used it previously.

Another area where, unfortunately, we have a systematic breaking of a programme for Government pledge is the commitment not to guillotine Bills. The record shows that 63% of legislation to date has been guillotined. The Government failed to implement its programme for Government commitment to allow for two weeks between Bill Stages in 78% of Bills. Topical Issue debates have been completely undermined by the failure of relevant Ministers to turn up in over 40% of cases. This is factual information that tells its own story. The Friday sitting could be described by many as mere window dressing to bolster sitting days without any real debate and with no votes associated with legislation being discussed. The Government continues to engage in cronyism in State board appointments ignoring the open public process. Again, a statistical analysis shows that only one in five appointments has come through the open process.

That is an indication from the Opposition's perspective as to the lack of commitment on the part of Government to follow through on the various promises made in respect of reform. I hope that when we see the effort, commitment and work of the convention in producing such a report and making such recommendations, they are considered in their entirety and that moves are made to address the recommendations continued in the report. I accept and agree with many of the Minister of State's initial responses to it. Having said that, the constituency review needs to be enshrined to meet on a more regular basis rather than on the ad hoc basis maybe after two terms. I would like to see that set in stone.

The electoral commission was promised last April by the Taoiseach, as the Minister of State rightly noted. The Minister of State now says that the Bill is being prepared and will be before the House next year. I can only ask that every effort is made to bring that here hastily and to give it the sort of remit that would be reflective of many of the recommendations contained here in respect of improving voter turnout, looking at polling hours and polling days and improving the accuracy of the register. These are issues that this electoral commission needs to be charged with in order to make firm, real and meaningful recommendations to which the Government must commit in the event of the commission being given the sort of teeth that are necessary to make it effective.

I reiterate my and my party's thanks to and appreciation for the convention, staff and those who participated. I thank them for bringing forward the report. The success of that will only be measured by the commitments that ensue from Government in order to address the issues that have been raised. I implore the Minister of State to carry out the commitments she has given here today.

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