Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am sure the Taoiseach will agree that the issue of Seanad reform has not been tackled and that it has been on the political agenda for as long as the Seanad has existed. There have been 12 reports on Seanad reform and following the McNulty debacle, as the Taoiseach outlined, the Seanad reform working group was established by him, but its report has not been acted on. We did not even get to debate it during the previous term. The Taoiseach mentioned the need to put together an implementation group and Sinn Féin Seanadóirí and Independents have taken an initiative to push Seanad reform to the top of the political agenda. This is about the setting up of a committee on Seanad political reform which would be strictly time limited to four weeks and address the role of a reformed Seanad, its powers and functions, any legislative change that might be needed and how the Seanad should conduct its business. The notion is that it would deal with submissions from any Member or group and with the Manning report. It is a way of doing it coming from Seanadóirí. Will the Taoiseach support this initiative and embrace the proposal?

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