Martin Mansergh (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister and the Bill. I compliment the Minister on one of the most succinct Second Stage speeches I have heard in this House and will try to follow his example. The establishment of the commission has vindicated itself over the past three years. It has given Members of the Oireachtas responsibility for the running of their Houses. Much good will has been shown over the years by successive Ministers for Finance. However the trouble with having the commission under a Minister for Finance is that it is like the definition of tsarist Russia, which is that since only the tsar is entitled to take decisions, no decisions are taken. Much good work has been done over the past three years. I have been honoured to be a member of the commission, as have Senator Ulick Burke and Senator O'Toole and the Minister presenting the Bill, Deputy Brian Lenihan. We have operated in a collegiate manner with a minimum of partisan differences. We all realise that, over time, we may find ourselves in different situations regarding Government and Opposition.

There have been real achievements, including beefing up the back-up services available to Members of the Seanad. Senators are entitled to a full secretary instead of half a secretary, with certain alternative options, including three quarters of a secretary and an allowance. That is an improvement. Reference has been made to the improvement in the research and library services. This has been initiated only recently and we will see its effect over time. We have Saturday opening and, even if those based in the country rarely avail of this, it is an excellent facility to have Leinster House open over the weekend. Like all changes in the public sector, some of these changes have involved delicate industrial relations negotiations. Those have been pursued to a successful conclusion. In some cases we have had rationalisation, such as in the printing services.

The commission was generously endowed at the beginning in 2004 by then Minister for Finance, former Deputy Charlie McCreevy. We have lived within budget. The main purpose of this Bill is to provide finance for the next three years. Enough has been said on translation and I agree with everything the Minister and Senator Ulick Burke said on that. The commission has also been involved in consideration of medium to long-term issues such as whether the car parking should go underground and the accommodation of both Chambers. There have been reviews with the help of the staff of the Houses of the Oireachtas.

I pay tribute to them for the large amount of assistance and co-operation they have given us and to agencies such as the Office of Public Works. These issues will have to be discussed further and considered in the term of the next commission when it is appointed after the general election. In addition to meetings at least once a month there have been a number of committee meetings. Most Members sit on at least two committees or sub-committees so much work has been involved. We can look back with satisfaction on what has been achieved, accepting that many items that will help Members to improve their performance and contribution remain to be addressed.