Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)

It is a complicated system from start to finish. It is not that bad either because it brings a broad range of views before this House from many different backgrounds — from farmers to educationalists to fishermen etc. Anybody can be a Member of this House or nearly any group may have a representative. I would like to touch on Senator Dardis's point about connecting with the people. We have local government, two Houses of Parliament, a Seanad and a Dáil, and elections to the European Parliament. If one asks the vast majority of the public about any one of those, few understand what goes on in any chamber, whether it is a town or county council, the Seanad, Dáil or the European Parliament. Councillors probably feel they have the most sophisticated electorate, but we have the most educated electorate involved in the selection of Members of this House. The brains of the country elect three members, the three Trinity graduates. If one were to ask 90% of the people who elect the three Trinity graduates here what goes on in Seanad Éireann, they would not know. By putting in five or six more Senators and giving various other groups representation, will the Seanad connect better with the public? In my view, it will not. It is all about education. This matter will have to be brought back to the classroom. One must bring the teachers into the Seanad and give them crash courses on what happens in the Seanad, the Dáil, the European Parliament and town and county council chambers. They will bring it back to the classroom. This may need to be introduced into the curriculum. When I was in first or second year at secondary school the teacher asked the civics class what was a specimen ballot paper. I was the only one who could answer because I had been marking them for my father at an election shortly before that.

In Canada there is a system for educating teachers about their parliaments. They are brought in for two or three days at a time and learn how Bills pass through the houses, their different stages, and how they progress from one house to the other. We should consider educating our educators in the same way. Most teachers or lecturers have no idea how a Bill goes through either the Dáil or the Seanad. People who visit these Houses on deputations or watching briefs are amazed at what happens and are often delighted they have come in and observed the progress of a Bill, regardless of how they lobbied on it. That is a very educational process and is the way we should move to bring our Parliament closer to the people. They should know what happens here and how it happens.

We will not bring our Parliament and local authorities closer to the people by bringing in more Members or representation from other interested groups. Any group can be represented here. Looking back at how I got in here I realise that if any of us can get here, anyone else who puts his or her mind to it can get in here too. Going through the process of local government and national parliament and coming in here is a learning curve. It is a university in its own right. There is much to learn locally and nationally on politics and legislation. We must educate our educators if we are to bring Parliament closer to the people so that we can connect with them.