Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)
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Question 58: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he will promote in Government the need to expand the franchise of the university panels of Seanad Éireann elections to include graduates of all universities and institutes of technology; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19907/06]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The Report on Seanad Reform, published by the Sub-committee on Seanad Reform in April 2004, sets out comprehensive recommendations for further consideration and action concerning the composition, functions and future role of Seanad Éireann. It recommends significant reform of the Seanad electoral system, involving rolling renewal of the Upper House and the introduction of direct election to a single national 26-seat constituency, with a further six seats to be reserved for direct election to a separate higher education constituency to include all graduates of institutions of higher education in the State.

At the request of the Taoiseach, I have convened an informal all-party parliamentary group on Seanad reform to assess the extent of cross-party agreement on the sub-committee's recommendations and to advance, with consensus, proposals for the implementation of Seanad reform. The group, which I chair, has adopted a pragmatic programme of work, initially addressing proposals which may attract an early consensus and are capable of implementation in the short to medium term. The proposals for reform of the higher education constituency will require detailed consideration by the group in light of differing views identified in our initial discussions. The group will meet again this week.

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Will the Government explain to graduates of the University of Limerick, Dublin City University, Dublin Institute of Technology and all other institutes of technology why they, unlike their counterparts in Trinity College Dublin and the colleges of the National University of Ireland, are not entitled to vote in Seanad elections? Given his responsibility for electoral matters, will the Minister ensure this situation is corrected before the next Seanad election in little more than 12 months?

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The seventh amendment to the Constitution was put before the people in 1979 and many Ministers have stood in my place since then. The interesting point about the 1979 amendment is that it was originally introduced to facilitate the break-up of the NUI, which did not subsequently occur. I do not believe there is the necessary consensus to facilitate the change proposed by Deputy Gilmore within a year. The many legal difficulties involved have been discussed by the Joint Committee on Environment and Local Government. I am sure Deputy Stagg, who is a regular and effective contributor at the meetings of this committee, will be able to inform the Deputy of the issues.

It is not a simple matter. As the parent of children who have graduated from a variety of third level institutions, I believe it would be a positive development for them all to be involved in the Seanad elections. I would mislead the House, however, if I were to say that such change could be implemented by June next year.

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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What is Government policy on the matter? Does it intend to maintain the status quo or to extend Seanad voting rights to graduates of all third level institutions?

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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As I said, I have established a working group comprising representatives from all sides of the House.

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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That is methodology, not policy.

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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Perhaps there is too much policy and not enough methodology.

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Is the Minister in favour of extending Seanad voting rights?

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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Yes, but we have some way to go to achieve that. It is not simply a case of saying I support such change, we must achieve consensus across the political spectrum before taking action. I am not convinced such consensus exists.

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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It is utterly strange that graduates of different institutions are considered to have equivalent qualifications when it comes to securing employment but not in respect of qualifying to vote in Seanad elections. There is no reason a decision cannot be made to implement change in this regard.

Has the Minister or the all-party committee considered the increasingly pronounced rural bias in terms of the Seanad election given the population of the east coast is continually increasing?

The electors to the Seanad are primarily members of local authorities but their numbers do not increase proportionately with the growth in the population of local authority areas. That bias will make the Seanad even more remote from people. Is that matter being considered by the Minister?

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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No, the point in the question posed by Deputy O'Sullivan relates to a decision made, by way of referendum, to introduce universal suffrage among all graduates, whether from the National University of Ireland or Trinity College. As I explained, there are difficulties with that.

I am not sure that the Deputy's point regarding bias is correct. The electorate of councillors reflects the reality of where the councils are. If anything, an argument could be made to the contrary. Nevertheless, that issue is not part of the work that has been ongoing in the group, nor was it a significant part of the work of the sub-committee which sat in the Seanad. That sub-committee dealt with a number of issues, including an increase in the number of Seanad Members to 65. It suggested that 32 Members should be directly elected and that 26 of the seats should be filled from a single constituency, using a proportional representation system. It also suggested that 20 Senators should be indirectly elected by county and city councillors, which is contrary to the view proposed by Deputy Catherine Murphy. The sub-committee also suggested that the Seanad be renewed on a rolling basis, with direct elections, including in higher education constituencies, taking place every five years.

The sub-committee made a variety of radical propositions. However, I do not think we will see them implemented for quite some time.

Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Some 27 years amounts to a lot of foot dragging.