Joanna Tuffy (Labour)

The Senator does not have a local mandate and that is the reality.

The Minister mentioned the derogation for Irish members of the European Parliament. I apologise – I was not aware of that. The fact is they have held it, they still do and they have got a derogation. That is another aspect of the reasoning behind my second amendment which I will explain later. The point is that one can transfer from one to the other and one should be able to go from what is perceived to be a higher level to a lower level. Even if that is the eventual trend one should be able to move from one level to the other.

I am not talking down the role of a Senator. I agree it is a busy job. I met members of the press on the press gallery the other day and we discussed the Freedom of Information Act because it obviously affects them. They are not in the gallery to the same extent as in the Dáil, although they should be in the Dáil more often. We do important work in the Seanad.

Life as a Senator is not as busy as that of a Minister. In terms of our salary and facilities it is recognised in the Houses of the Oireachtas that the role of a Senator is different and that the level of work involved is less than that of a Deputy. It would be a sham for us to say we are equivalent and pay us the same money as a Deputy and artificially to contrive debates. Our level of participation is busy but it is on a different level from that of a Deputy.

I do not agree with the ending of the dual mandate. It should be left to a personal or political party choice as to whether to end the dual mandate. Perhaps the political parties could come to a mutual agreement. It is bad for one to lose the local government perspective.

During the election campaign, the Tánaiste was reported in the local newspaper as saying there was no housing crisis. The reason she said that was that she did not have the local government perspective that I have, nor has she had it for a long time. At one time she was a county councillor and perhaps a term on the local authority would not do her, or any politician, any harm. It would put them in touch with the people.

I have spoken to various Deputies and Senators about this matter. Government party Senators who have spoken to me on a personal level have indicated they are not at all happy with this change and they want to continue their role in local government. There is a difference of opinion between what is being proposed by the Government and the feeling on the ground among its members. I look forward to the Minister's comments.