Joe O'Toole (Independent)

It is a while since we received any response from Government Members on the question of Seanad reform, to which they were all committed. Can we take it that the Minister for Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Gormley, has conceded to the main Government party on the issue? Is Seanad reform a dead duck? Is it dead in the water? Are we likely to hear any more on it? We were promised legislation on at least three occasions and the Minister assured us that he would bring it forward. It now seems Fianna Fáil has effectively outmanoeuvred the Green Party which was completely committed to Seanad reform but is now not able to deliver on it. I would appreciate a response from the Leader in order that we can establish that nothing is happening. If it is a win for Fianna Fáil over its Government partners, it should tell us in order that we can see where we are going. At least, we would then know where various parties stood on the issue.