David Norris (Independent)

All Independent Senators produced legislation in recent years that puts this situation in perspective.

This week, we have seen two squalid performances, the first by the leader of Fine Gael in the Dáil, Deputy Kenny. He unilaterally decided to sacrifice this House on the altar of his own public political ambition to expiate principally the sins of the other House. That was bad enough, but what of the dishonesty of the statements that went with it? He stated that he had announced this at the McGill Summer School, but he was publicly confronted with the record, which showed he had not announced it. The notion that we are going to solve the economic problems of this country by cutting back Seanad Éireann would be laughable were it not so serious to think that a man so financially illiterate might be placed in charge of the destiny of this country.