Joe O'Toole (Independent)

I am firmly committed to an upper house. At present the Seanad is unrepresentative, undemocratic, anachronistic and unfair in the way it is put together. The point raised by Senator Alex White is right in that a university electorate is elitist, a cadre, exclusive and unacceptable in a democracy. However, it is not the only thing which is unacceptable. The only reason I am on the university panel is that I would not have got a vote on the cultural and educational panel despite the fact I was the boss of the largest, oldest and most widespread educational organisation in the country, nor would I have got a vote on the labour panel despite the fact I was president of the largest labour organisation on this island. The only way I could have a voice in the second House of Parliament was to be on the university panel. That is why it needs reform.