Fergal Browne (Fine Gael)

This is a democracy and the Taoiseach is paid to answer questions. The Dáil and Seanad do not sit often and it is important that he should be in the Houses. In light of the reforms being brought forward, there is scope for the Taoiseach to come to the Seanad to answer questions. The frequency of that could be decided on by the committee, but it would give the Seanad a better profile and should be looked at.

It was commendable that the last Seanad initiated many Bills. That gave this House a lot of publicity and gave some power to Senators. It should be continued in this Seanad and we should aim to have 50% of all Bills initiated in the Seanad. There is probably a better level of debate in this House than in the Dáil, as I have seen in my time as a Senator. Party politics can take over in the Dáil.

I think I am correct in saying that Dr. Garrett Fitzgerald appointed a Senator as a Minister when he was Taoiseach. That could be looked at again and Senators could be appointed as Ministers or Ministers of State. It might make the House more relevant.

The points I have made about relevancy can be applied to the lack of media coverage of this House. There is no point in debating the Flood tribunal report in four or five weeks' time as it will be old news by then. The child sex abuse scandal has captured the media spotlight. We need to be more topical. The Seanad could be used by Ministers to make major announcements. Rather than coming to the House to tell us how wonderful they are and how they are doing a better job than their predecessors, Ministers should make concrete announcements in this House, allowing Senators to spread the word to the people. The media would become more interested in such circumstances. I saw a journalist from the Sunday Business Post in the press gallery yesterday, but it reflects badly that I have not seen any other media personnel here since I became a Senator. I realise they may watch our debates from their offices, but would like to see more journalists report the activities of the Seanad, as it is a very important House.