Seanad debates
Wednesday, 9 October 2002
Sub-Committee of the Committee on Procedure and Privileges: Motion.
Every year thousands of reports appear on the Order Paper which are never debated or discussed. While I concede that some of these are best left to a committee of the House, in other cases we should hold a debate. For instance, an issue first raised in this House ten years ago by Senator O'Toole and others, namely, emigrant voting, arose again during the summer when the Minister for Foreign Affairs published an excellent report on support for emigrants. Given its party political nature and the kind of animal it is, the Dáil will never debate this report. This House has an opportunity to debate issues such as this in a very short, concise way. In this case, we should bring in the Minister to ensure a degree of accountability for the recommendations made in the report. As Senators, we can provide added value on these kinds of issues.
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