Denise Mitchell (Dublin Bay North, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Unfortunately, the Government has missed a huge opportunity with this Bill. It has taken what the Supreme Court found and interpreted it in the narrowest of ways. Seanad reform has long been talked about, but the Government has done all the talking and taken no action. Let us be honest; it only moved on this Bill because it was bounced into it. We in Sinn Féin are not in a position to support this legislation as it stands, and we will be pushing it to a vote.

Mr. Tómas Heneghan, who took this case, is also opposing this. He actually wrote to me this morning stating as much. I commend Mr. Heneghan on pursuing the issue in the first place. As he states in his letter, rightly, the legislation still excludes the majority of people from voting in the Seanad. Government appears happy to continue to leave the Seanad open to ridicule and the accusation of being completely undemocratic. It has done the bare minimum here. It has fumbled an opportunity for meaningful reform. Even as it stands, this Bill does not do what it should have. It still excludes some voters who should have been included.

Amendments were submitted on Committee Stage in the Seanad to include other graduates and other degree holders. Sinn Féin proposed that it also include graduates from higher level institutions in the North. The amendments were both ruled out of order because they would put an additional cost on the Exchequer. Graduates from Queen's University Belfast, Ulster University, St. Mary's University College Belfast and other graduates from regional colleges across the North have all been left behind here.

The Bill drafted by the Seanad Reform Implementation Group was introduced in the Seanad back in 2020. The Government could have chosen to progress that Bill if it was serious about delivering real Seanad reform. It would have radically reformed elections to the Seanad. It included the proposal, which we are discussing here, to have a single six-seat university constituency for all graduates from across the island. It would also provide for 43 seats that would be filled by election across five vocational panels and that 28 seats would be filled by election by the people, including Irish citizens from the North who would be able to register on their vocational panel of interest. I believe that is the Bill we should be discussing here today. We should be making the Seanad accountable to the people. Instead, Government is ignoring the calls that have been there for decades. It is turning its back on the democratic norms. It smacks of elitism. It is gatekeeping on the part of the Government.

This Government has wasted a lot of time and effort with reports that lie on a shelves, as well as many soundbites regarding Seanad reform. However, it has been found wanting when it comes to proper action. When speaking in the Seanad on this issue of reform back in 2018, former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said:

When we talk about renewing Irish politics in a general sense, or reforming the Seanad to give a specific example, it can often feel like Groundhog Day. It seems like we are condemned to do the same thing over and over, often repeating the same mistakes, with little or nothing changing ... [I believe] we have an opportunity to break that cycle.

Here we are now, six years on, and it appears on the face of it that this legislation will not break any cycle. We are still having the same tired conversation, with statements of intent coming from Minister after Minister. Very little has changed, and it is guaranteed very little will change with this Bill. The best thing this House could do is reject this legislation and demand the progression of the 2020 Bill. That would be the right thing to do. That would be far more reflective of what the people want to do. It is really disappointing that the Government is going to persist with this Bill despite a far more comprehensive Bill that is ready to go. That would be a Bill on which we could all agree. I underline again our disappointment in the Government's approach to this issue. I hope that whatever Government follows after the next election can do much better when it comes to reform of the Seanad. I think we agree we do need to do better.

I will finish with a question from Mr Heneghan’s letter, which I think is very relevant:

Throughout Irish history some politicians have left behind extraordinary legacies as members of the Oireachtas. Will your legacy be one of supporting the exclusion of millions of Irish people, north and south, for voting in the Seanad elections based solely on the fact they do not hold college degrees? Or will ... [you be the one] that stood up and pushed for fairness?

It is the Government's call, and the record will show that it was on the wrong side and acting in the interests of the elites and not in the interests of democracy.

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