Joe O'Toole (Independent)

Whether a Member decides to cast her vote is nothing to do with me. Members of the commission were elected by this House. Every Member was given notice of this on the Order of Business. It is on the record of the House. I will take pleasure in sending it to Senator White.

The commission does not micro-manage the House, which is very busy. Senator Mansergh referred to the work of the members of the commission. Last year I attended 138 meetings of commission business. There are sub-committees, a finance committee, and audit committee, an ICT committee, a management committee and a staffing committee. We met six times this week in dealing with the Bill.

I referred to the work of the Commission this morning. The Library and research facilities are working well and I recommend these to Members. The ICT facilities have been upgraded and staffing levels have been improved. For the first time ever a Member of the Seanad now has a person at his or her disposal full-time. Printing arrangements are better than ever. These are a number of the issues with which the commission deals. The commission has no role in the operation of the House. The Joint Committee on House Services has control of the operation of the bars, restaurants and coffee shops. The commission extends general functions to the Members, such as the extension of opening hours mentioned by Senator Mansergh.

It is important to note that we have set up strict financial management structures. We have had a number of meetings with the Comptroller and Auditor General to ensure we are conducting business correctly. We have worked within budget despite the prophets of doom who predicted that we could not. Today's Bill establishes the budget for the next three years.

One of the major issues raised was translation. I regret the way it happened. We tried to accommodate the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs. Ní raibh an tAire sásta. Tháinig sé chun caint linn ach ní rabhamar in ann teacht ar aon chinneadh leis. Bhí sé deacair chun teacht ar cinneadh leis, nó chun aontas a fháil leis. An rud atá á dhéanamh ag an Rialtas an uair seo ná go bhfuil sé ag cur isteach sa Bhille rud nach cóir a bheith sa Bhille. Is rud é nach raibh sé in ann déileáil leis in aon chaoi eile. Ba mhaith liom leasú beag amháin a fheiscint. Nílim chun é a chur isteach mar tá sé ródhéanach. I líne 11, leathanach 4, deireann sé "to provide translation services from one official language into the other in respect of Acts of the Oireachtas". I would prefer to take a constitutional approach and substitute "to provide for translation services". I ask that this be examined at a later stage. The commission was prepared to provide for translation services but wanted to keep it as a separate budget. It cannot be controlled or budgeted for, it is an on demand service. There may be ten Bills that have to be translated in a week but no Bills for the next two months. The improvement made in the Dáil has gone some distance towards achieving that.

As a former trade union representative, I remember one matter that appalled me since entering politics. I met a Deputy who had just lost his seat. When he returned to the Houses some time later his possessions were in plastic bags. I also met a Minister who, on the days he lost his job, had to get a taxi home.