Dominic Hannigan (Labour)

I am not sure whether another day or another report would help. I spoke about Seanad reform here in November 2007, and while the world outside has changed a great deal since, very little has changed as regards the way we do our business. My opinion remains the same as it was then.

During the week Senator O'Toole praised the work we do here and mentioned legislation such as the Charities Bill, the Adoption Bill and the Broadcasting Bill. They came through this House and benefited by the work put into them while in the Seanad. However, we are living through a period of protracted and previously unimagined crises. Events are unfolding at an enormous rate and our decision making process is struggling to keep pace. In that context the work that has been carried out in this House over the last 18 months has done the State a considerable degree of service. We have managed to spot oversights, put down amendments that were often very useful and the overall quality of debate has meant that legislation, originally drafted in some haste, has ultimately ended up serving the purpose for which it was intended.

Despite these worthy efforts, however, our collective democratic deficit remains and our credibility and usefulness in the eyes of the Irish public are virtually non-existent. Reform of the Seanad is in everybody's interest, not just ours. I find sometimes that it is difficult to be a participant in an aspect of the legislative process that suffers from such a chronic credibility deficit. Members of the public rightly view the status quo as undemocratic, elitist and of questionable long-term use in its current form.

I shall deal with some of the specifics of the motion. I cannot support any affirmation of the university panel system. The expansion of the franchise to include the institutes of technology, DCU and the University of Limerick would achieve little in the way of democratic accountability other than just expanding and reinforcing what is an inequitable and elitist system. The word "elitist" has been thrown about to great effect in national and international politics in the last few years. I do not want to label anyone or question the genuine good intentions of Senators in this House. However, the fact remains that this is an aspect of the system, as opposed to any individual actor, and it is inherently elitist. It promotes a group that achieved a specific level of educational attainment to a higher plane than the rest of the electorate and that is simply unacceptable and we cannot support it.

The university panel has provided the Upper House with legislators and public figures of considerable quality, both now and previously. The expertise and commitment Senators elected from the university panel bring to this House in areas such as human rights, finance, social policy and labour law is deeply appreciated by all of us. However, the end does not always justify the means, and the means in this instance must change. Senators Bacik, Norris, Mullen, O'Toole and Quinn are public figures of some strength in their own right and I have no doubt their electoral prospects would not suffer from the removal of the university panel system.

Many valuable rewards are, and should be, bestowed on men and women who graduate from university but the right to vote in an election at the exclusion of others is not among them. Many of my friends and colleagues have not had, in many cases, the chance or, in others, the desire to attend university but that should not mean they cannot take part in voting for elections to the Upper House. My preference is for the university panels to be extended and that anyone over 16 years of age who chooses to register should be entitled to vote for these panels, regardless of any educational attainment.

I have no problem in holding a session of the Seanad in the University of Limerick but I would be happier if it was held in a community centre in somewhere like Moyross than within the hallowed walls of some university campus.

Moving on to general reform, I fully support the general consensus that the vocational panel is in need of wholesale reform. The public consultation process carried out for the report found a unanimous appetite for reform in this area and it is important we recognise the usefulness of those labels. Simply, they were designed for a different time and a different society.

On the subject of the Taoiseach's nominees, I support suggestions in the report that these allocations be made to under-represented or marginalised groups in society. The House would benefit enormously in operational, contributory and reputational terms if seats were allocated to people from Northern Ireland, different ethnic groups, migrants and others who suffer from social exclusion. This kind of participative democracy would be enormously beneficial and I would be delighted to see those provisions as part of a reform package.

Recommendations in regard to the type of work we should do in the Seanad are as important as the procedural and operational reforms. The idea that the Seanad should have a key role in the scrutiny of European affairs, including reviewing draft legislation and providing MEPs with a national forum for discussing their activities, is excellent and would provide the Upper House with a unique and valuable mandate. Therein lies an excellent opportunity to address the disconnect many citizens and, indeed, legislators feel in regard to Europe. Such a system would be transparent, accessible and highly relevant to Ireland's future in the European Union.

Similarly, suggestions that the Seanad should undertake occasional scrutiny of public figures, public appointments, State agencies and the performance of public bodies would constitute an important step towards accountable democracy. Given that we now own a bank, such a function may prove invaluable in the future. Again, I thank the Senators for tabling this motion. As I said, we are speaking about the 11th report on Seanad reform, so let us just get on with it.