Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael)

I thank Senator Cummins for allowing me to share his time. I welcome the Minister to the House and thank him for his interest in this subject. I also thank Senator O'Toole for initiating this debate and for provoking everyone into action. Yesterday evening, my party met to discuss this matter. I am delighted with the Minister's agreement on the Seanad being a vital component of our system. Everyone accepts that some reform is necessary. Unfortunately, the people are apathetic. If asked, they would probably want to abolish the Dáil as well as the Seanad, particularly given these difficult times. Over the years, the House has been acknowledged as being less partisan and more objective than the Dáil.

I accept Senator O'Toole's comments on graduates.

There is so much to be covered, we will not have enough time to go into it all. My party does not agree with the recommendations in the last report. For example, we do not agree with increasing the number of Senators to 65, as the number should stay at 60. Senators Cummins and Coffey outlined some of our considerations in this respect. The increase is not a part of our agreed position, which was adopted yesterday evening.

Much more could be done. As Senators mentioned, there is no reason for the Seanad not to debate Northern Ireland issues more often. As the Acting Chairman and other Senators stated, we could reform our Order of Business. We should not restrict ourselves during the most topical part of the day. The Committee on Procedure and Privileges should examine the matter.

Before addressing my party's proposals, the electoral college comprising local councillors and Members is an ideal voting bloc. I respect other Senators' comments on the people in question. Each Senator represents 1,000 electors or more. As the Minister knows, several countries use indirect methods of election. We should not condemn this system outright. I agree with the Minister in that reform should only be conducted on an all-party basis. I commend him on the way he has set about trying to achieve it, on the meetings he has held and on the further meetings he intends to hold.

Fine Gael believes that the right of address in the Seanad should be conferred on MEPs, but someone pointed out that this right already exists. It should also be conferred on former taoisigh. Under the Leader and some of his predecessors, European Commissioners and others have attended the House. Fine Gael wants to provide the Seanad with additional powers to review proposed EU legislation, take presentations from the public on matters of national importance and initiate constitutional referenda on matters of public importance. Fine Gael wishes to empower the Seanad to write to the President to test the constitutionality of a Bill under Article 26. It wishes to empower the Seanad to interview applicants for various prescribed public positions, such as that of Comptroller and Auditor General, Ombudsman and so on. I see no reason not to extend the right to receive written answers to parliamentary questions to the Seanad. Moreover, its Members are prepared to take on much of the workload that is performed by some of the committees at present. As the Minister is aware, Fine Gael has proposed a reduction in the number of committees from 19 to nine.