Ivana Bacik (Independent)

-----and which the Government did not adopt, will be accepted in years to come as paving the way for the Government's own civil partnership legislation. It also helped to shift the public debate. The Seanad's role in shifting public debate and changing public opinion is often not sufficiently acknowledged. The Seanad plays a vital role in this regard, one that the Dáil cannot play. I always believed this, even before I was elected to the Seanad. Legislation such as Mary Henry's on the need to regulate assisted human reproduction and in vitro fertilisation was pioneering in a way in which Senator Norris's civil partnership legislation and Mary Robinson's on contraception was.

While I defend the role and existence of the Seanad, significant and substantial reform is needed. The election processes need to be changed. All Senators on the university panels agree on the need to extend the franchise to graduates of all third level institutions. The Minister claimed this would present logistical difficulties and have significant resource implications because, as he pointed out, there are over 500,000 graduates in the State. I am disappointed by this and again detect a note of defeatism and frustration. The case has to be made to making this reform to the university panels.

I also support the recommendation made in the 2004 report on Seanad reform which called for a broadening of the university constituency to a national higher education constituency and that other Seanad seats should be directly elected in a single national constituency using a proportional representation list system. This latter process would make the Seanad different from the Dáil because it would be not be based on geographical constituencies. It would also mean those entitled to vote in the higher education constituency would have to chose in which constituency they wished to vote. This would prevent people from being doubly enfranchised. This was a sensible idea to make the Seanad more democratic in its election processes.

As regards the Seanad's work, the Minister will be aware of the recommendation made in 2004 that it should be given a new role in scrutinising EU legislation. That is an enormous task. We are all conscious of the increased workload in that regard, particularly considering the Lisbon treaty's provisions in that respect. As a member of the justice committee, I am conscious of seeing an increased amount of EU legislation coming before it. There is a real argument to be made for the Seanad to have a greater role in this area. I am often concerned that legislation that might be controversial or have serious implications for changing policy might slip through the net unless it is debated in the Dáil or the Seanad. It seems the Seanad would be an appropriate forum in that regard.

The argument was also made that the Seanad should have a role in scrutinising senior public appointments, an eminently sensible suggestion. We have seen far too little accountability in the appointment of senior public servants during the years, a matter under the spotlight, given the talk about a banking inquiry and failures in regulation at the top levels.

There is clearly a role for an Upper House with clear functions it should undertake. In the two years I have been a Member I have seen an enormous strength in the House's role as a legislative assembly. Under the Constitution, that has to remain the primary function of the Seanad. However, there are other functions that have been recommended which should also be taken on. Clearly, much of what the House does is not effective. I have spoken before about how statements can seem to be pointless time-fillers. There is an argument for tightening the Seanad schedule to ensure it is much more effective in a shorter space of time. I agree with Senator Twomey on the chaotic ordering of business and the machismo of the House sitting through the night to deal with legislation. There should be better ways of ordering our business. It would be worthwhile examining how we can whittle it down and, then, if necessary, Member's pay and allowances, to ensure the work the Seanad does, as a legislative body and a scrutiniser of EU legislation and public appointments, is valid and genuine.

The Seanad has a role to play but for this to continue significant reforms must be made. Otherwise, the arguments for its abolition gain weight. There is no doubt such arguments already carry some weight with the public. We must answer them robustly by making a clear case for reform. I believed the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Gormley, had a genuine commitment to it. Even a year ago when the House last debated the issue, he was positive about the prospect of Seanad reform during the Government's term. I am not sure he is so positive now, which is a pity because we need reform before the next election.