Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail)

No, Senator Norris has, rightly, been covered on a great many issues.

Since its establishment the Seanad has been an admirable institution. The lack of media coverage, then their comments in an authoritative fashion as to their opinion on the Seanad's usefulness and uselessness and the suggestion of its abolition have done a disservice to the great work it has done. It has taken up quite a few debates, even on The Late Late Show, which I thought was the exclusive preserve of toys and soft entertainment. I did not participate in that debate because I knew it would be an ambush, which it was.

With past and current Members, I have been an enthusiastic supporter of Seanad reform. Throughout the history of the State Members of all parties and none have sought to preserve the status quo, namely, to use the Seanad as a safety net for the "also ran" and a launching pad to protect their future prospects. Notwithstanding this, as I pointed out, the Seanad is a useful forum in terms of considering legislation and the role its plays in society; meaningful reform could enhance its role further. Until there is a will to do this at senior government level I do not believe we will have the reform for which all of us in the House have always and will continue to yearn. Parnell was once described as "dry rot" in the House of Commons. Senators are often described, metaphorically by Members of the other House, as dry rot in the Oireachtas and the legislative process, with which I fundamentally disagree. We need to work to change this view - I am speaking candidly on the basis that we will not be voting on the motion - and to work collectively to convince people in the higher echelons of government - I include in that Governments made up of Fine Gael and other party members - to take a different view of the Seanad. Until we do this, we will not see the required reform.

Senators Norris, O'Toole, Glynn and others made valid points. The Minister stated it would be difficult to achieve cross-party consensus on this issue. Reforming an institution of State is a difficult mission. The reality is that if we cannot achieve consensus, we will require leadership to take us forward in addressing this issue as best we can. I look forward to this happening in the short term. It is ridiculous in the extreme that we have had eight reports on the matter and that we have had such preservation of the status quo. However, I believe it suited to have that safety net for the "also ran" and as a launching pad.

I have never contested a Dáil election and have never been a member of a local authority, although I might have liked to have been both. I am not suggesting it would not be nice to serve as a Member of the other House. However, I have taken my role in this House seriously and have tried as a member of the Industrial and Commercial Panel to reflect in legislation relevant to that sector my experience which is exclusively in industry as a business person, an employee and through my involvement in international marketing. I do not use my position exclusively to raise issues relevant to Sligo-Leitrim or solely for the purpose of raising my profile in order to enhance it. I fully expect to put my name forward in the next Seanad election, notwithstanding the intentions of Deputy Kenny, for whom I have great respect. However, in terms of his aspiration to abolish the Seanad and his call during interviews for reform from the centre and the top, which confuses me, I do not believe pandering to populist media driven reactionary politics is what the nation needs at this time. We should seek to improve our institutions and reform them in a meaningful way to ensure they are more effective, as in the case of the Constitution which has served us well since 1937.

In terms of the reforms I would like to see, I agree with the Graduate Equality Ireland Group which, with many other organisations, have lobbied for implementation of the seventh amendment to the Constitution to widen the university structure to reflect the position in the higher education sector in 2009 rather than in 1937. We are all agreed on that point. There are many areas other than that which should be reformed, including a reduction in the number of nominating bodies for those elected through the system, an area in which there is much duplication. The Taoiseach's nominees should always include representatives from Northern Ireland, although, unlike others, I do not believe this will happen. It is unlikely that the Queen will bestow peerages on us.