Niall Ó Brolcháin (Green Party)

I do not wish to repeat everything that has been said but I commend Senator Quinn on his work on this legislation. I hope it will have a speedy passage through the Dáil as early as possible. This Bill shows the value of the Seanad as well as the value of having a consensus approach to legislation which is necessary for society. There was not enough of such legislation going through the Seanad. I agree with other speakers that the Seanad should be about progressing legislation in a consensual fashion, although we also need to scrutinise much of the minutiae to get it right. The Seanad should be a consensus model to speedily bring forward Bills in the public interest. I agree with Senator Ormonde that Seanad reform is the way forward. It would be a great loss to the people if the Seanad were abolished because it can be used to bring forward legislation in the public interest using a consensual approach. It takes Independent Senators and those with a particular passion to drive such legislation forward. I congratulate Senator Quinn on the Bill.