Pearse Doherty (Sinn Fein)

Ba mhaith liom ar dtús báire buíochas a ghabháil leis an Seanadóir Hannigan fá choinne am a roinnt liom. Tá mé buíoch freisin leis an Chomhaontas Glas as ucht an rún seo a chuir ar an gclár inniu. Is cinnte gur díospóireacht fíor-tábhachtach, atá ag dul ar aghaidh ar feadh blianta, atá ann. Ba cheart dúinn rudaí a leanúint suas agus a chuir i gcrích i ndiadh na díospóireachta.

Sinn Féin was not part of the sub-committee which examined Seanad reform because the party was not represented in the previous Seanad when the report on Seanad reform was formulated. Reform is necessary. Although the proposals in the report do not go far enough, any reform of the Seanad, however small, must be welcomed because it is a fundamentally undemocratic, elitist forum. Sinn Féin advocates the establishment of a reformed, democratic, transparent, accountable and relevant second House of Parliament. The Seanad should afford a role for civic society and provide for fuller representation from all sections of society in the legislative process.

A second House could be constituted so as to represent those not adequately represented in the Dáil. It is beneficial for the democratic nature of government to have a second House of Parliament which provides a system of checks and balances on Government legislation and policy.

All Members of the Seanad should be elected by the citizens of the 32 counties, those who have been resident on the island for five years or more and all those aged over 16 years. I am disappointed the Minister does not intend to include these proposals in his reforms. Under the Sinn Féin proposals, which the party submitted as part of the process of drawing up a report on Seanad reform, pending the reunification of the country, those citizens of Ireland who are resident in the Six Counties would be able to cast their ballots by postal vote and Northern representation, a commitment across all parties in the All-Party Committee on the Constitution, could be realised in the House. I agree with the Leader that the House could become a 32 county forum in the Irish Parliament. Are we serious about bringing about this objective? Does every party subscribe to it? If so, the House has an option to allow citizens across the 32 counties to vote in elections to the Seanad.

Irish emigrants in London, Birmingham, Scotland, America and elsewhere in the world should be allowed to cast their votes by registering with the relevant Irish embassy. During the recent general election in Poland, candidates for the Polish Parliament travelled to Ireland to canvass members of the Polish diaspora here. Emigrants should be represented in the Seanad.

Sinn Féin favours having six vocational panels, including a community and voluntary panel, through which Senators would be elected. To tackle the under-representation of women, a gender quota of at least 30% should be applied in each panel.

These proposals address the mechanism by which Senators would be elected to the House. We must also deal with the functions of the House. Scrutiny should be its main role with Senators scrutinising draft domestic legislation and furnishing reports to the Dáil, including specific recommendations for amendment, withdrawal, further consultation, impact assessment and fast-tracking of progress. Sinn Féin proposes significant changes to the current legislative Stages. Prior to consideration by the Dáil, all proposed legislation would first pass scrutiny by the Seanad, in a process to be known as Second Stage. A new stage would include a community consultation process.

We cannot tinker at the edges of Seanad reform, as the Government proposes to do. The report on Seanad reform does not go far enough. One of the most undemocratic aspects of the election of Senators is the privilege afforded to the Taoiseach to nominate 11 Senators. This is a ridiculous mechanism which would be described as a form of dictatorship in any other country. To propose to increase the number of Taoiseach's nominees to 12 and allow the majority of Senators — 33 of the proposed 65 Members — to be political appointees does not make sense. We should not be afraid of allowing people across the 32 counties to speak. Let them decide who is best to represent them in the Upper House.