Ann Ormonde (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister of State to the House and wish him well for the next two years in office. I agree with Senator Bradford that too drastic changes would be dangerous. This Chamber has served the public very well. This is my third term in the Seanad and my father and brother also served here. Over the years my family has made a significant contribution to this House and we acknowledge its worth and how it has worked. There are, however, areas in which it can improve. My submission to this report was divided into two areas — the composition and the function of the Seanad.

The composition is made up of 43 elected Members from the county and city councils, the university panel and the Taoiseach's 11 nominees. To understand how we are elected one must consider the five vocational panels. We could look at how those panels operate. Perhaps they should be updated and the criteria for becoming a nominating panel reviewed and revisited. There could be a combination of those panels and I wonder what criteria are used to form a nominating body. I would have no difficulty with examining that aspect.

In my submission I said there is ongoing confusion among the electorate, the county and city councillors, about the significance of and the advantage for a candidate of being on an inside or outside panel. When I canvass this becomes a problem and I have to explain that I am on an outside panel because I am nominated by a nominating body as opposed to the Oireachtas panel. The confusion arises on the question of whether one scores over the other. It is difficult to explain this to the electorate when canvassing. I would like that confusion to be tidied up. Perhaps there should be a better system in that regard. We should all be nominated through the nominating bodies of the Oireachtas or a nominating panel but not inside or outside which raises confusion about the significance or advantages of one over the other.

I am opposed to the suggestion that there be new modes of electing Senators. We have a powerful democratic body of county and city councillors who know their jobs thoroughly. They were elected by the public and they know what is needed and have a good nose for who would do a good job in the Seanad among the 43 Members. There should be no dilution of the power bestowed upon county and city councillors who have done a good job since the foundation of the House.

Councillors also have knowledge of the people being put forward. I was elected from the Cultural and Educational Panel and I outlined my views to each county and city councillor in order that they would know where my interests lie in terms of regional and national policies. I reflect the views of county councillors who bring problems to my attention. There is nothing more democratic than that. The system we have is democracy at its best and is working well. There should be no dilution of the power of county councillors to elect Senators.

Perhaps we should revisit the question of the composition of the panels. We could consider combining a number of panels. Although I am happy with the university bloc, the franchise could perhaps be extended to everyone with a third level qualification and should not be exclusive to graduates of Trinity. The franchise should be extended to every person who qualifies with a degree from a third level institution. I do not believe there would be a problem with doing this as there appears to be a universal consensus in respect of it.

I have no difficulty with the Taoiseach's nomination of a representative from the North of Ireland. However, I would not like too much representation from the North. We should have a united Ireland before the number of representatives from there is increased. When we have a united Ireland, representatives from the North can canvass for votes like the rest of us. I would not give them a hand out. I have no difficulty with there being a representative here but there should be no more than that. I would not be satisfied with a situation where there might be four or five representatives in the House from the North. When there is a united Ireland, I would support that notion but not before then.

I would like to see changes as regards the functions of the Seanad. We have already begun the process of change. For example, much legislation has been initiated in the current Seanad and its predecessor. It has become a very effective Chamber in which to debate the Committee and Report Stages of Bills. I would like this to be enhanced.

MEPs could play a role in the workings of the House. They might be given the right to attend the Seanad and make contributions but not to vote. That would create a link between the House and Europe.

During the referendum on the Nice treaty, this Chamber was used quite regularly as a link with the public in terms of how to debate the issues which became controversial. That link must be enhanced. Members of the public still do not know enough about the Seanad. I am not saying there is hostility but there is an attitude of indifference to us. The media should give the Seanad a fair crack of the whip. The only coverage of our proceedings appears on "Oireachtas Report" and even then only the Order of Business is shown. If Members do not utter catchy soundbites or say something controversial, they will not get any coverage at all. Everyone naturally uses soundbites but I would like to think that my contributions are more constructive than that. However, if I do not use soundbites, I will not be given a chance and the public will not know that I exist.

The media should play a greater role in covering debates. Many good debates take place in this House in respect of various documents and reports that are published. We thrash out the issues but when one reads the newspaper the next day, one finds there is not one line of coverage. We have many fine speakers in the House who make substantial and constructive contributions but what they say is not covered by the media. We put a great amount of work into reflecting the views of members of the public and we spend much time reaching out to them. However, we need support from the media. Coverage of our proceedings is very poor.

We are starting a new term and I call for increased coverage of what happens here. This will allow us to communicate with the members of the public and take on board their views in terms of our role in vetting European legislation and directives initiated in Brussels. We are obliged to scrutinise such instruments and decide whether they are important or relevant in terms of what happens in this country. We have a monitoring role in respect of all the legislation initiated in Europe and the Seanad should play a major role in terms of linking, via consultation with our MEPS, with Brussels. The links to which I refer must be further enhanced. If we get matters right in that regard, we can move forward in terms of linking with the public.

The Seanad could also consult with lobby groups, particularly when legislation is being drafted. Let us consider, for example, the Disability Bill and the elements involved such as Comhairle, the strategy and the various areas of disability. There could be a consultation process within the Seanad in respect of such legislation in order to allow people to express their views. This would enable the proceedings of the Seanad to be opened up more to the public.

As Senator Bradford stated, we are doing a very good job, we work extremely hard and we reflect people's views, be they national, regional or local in nature. The electorate keeps Members on their toes and it is seldom wrong in terms of deciding to put square pegs into round holes. Regardless of the way in which we entered the Seanad, we are all playing a major role in its workings. I want us to do our best to enhance that role in order to serve the public. The Seanad must be used to initiate more legislation and its role in linking with the European Union and the committees must be enhanced. Other than that, all I can say is that if it is not broken do not fix it.