Seanad debates
Tuesday, 1 July 2003
Houses of the Oireachtas Commission Bill 2002: Committee Stage.
It is a question of what place the Seanad has in our democracy. Is it semi-supernumerary or semi-redundant or is it a partner? After all, this is not a Dáil commission Bill or a House of the Oireachtas commission Bill, rather it is the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission Bill. There are two Houses and, for the purposes of running Leinster House, they should be equal, notwithstanding the primacy of the Dáil. I plead with the Minister of State to examine this matter overnight. If he can say to me that, in practice, section 9(1) means that the Cathaoirleach will be the deputy chairperson – otherwise, section 9(1) does not make much sense – I will accept it. I am sure I speak for all Senators when I say that this is something we would like examined and corrected.
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