Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)

I compliment Senator Cummins on bringing the Bill before the House. It is the first legislation we have debated since the recess. Two issues have been raised today, the reform of the Seanad and the Bill itself. Seanad reform is a much bigger issue and with only five minutes to speak, the only issue to be discussed is the Bill, which I support.

The franchise should be extended to LAMA. I was a member of the association for a number of years and I can vouch for the great work it does on behalf of local authority members, not only members of county and city councils but also members of larger municipal authorities. It is a wide-ranging and extensive body which is well run. There is nothing wrong with Members of the House being elected by councillors. The councillors are elected by the public and come from wide and varied backgrounds and from all educational backgrounds. They have great knowledge and those they elect to the House also have great knowledge and experience.

I fully support the position outlined by Senator Cummins. Why should the representative body of local authority members not have the right to nominate one person to stand for election to the Seanad? Various bodies apply to the Clerk of the Seanad for the right to nominate to various panels. This Bill spells out in detail that the Association of County and City Councils, the Association of Municipal Authorities of Ireland and the Local Authority Members Association are the only bodies that would nominate to the administrative panel other than bodies with charitable status. It is clear LAMA does not have charitable status and Senator Cummins has outlined that the Bill should be changed to allow it to be a nominating body. I agree with this.

As has been outlined by several Senators, LAMA is very representative of all the political parties and independent groupings. There is nothing wrong with extending the franchise to it.