Dan Boyle (Green Party)

I offer my congratulations and those of my party to the 16 Members of this House who have been elected to the Dáil. As debates occur in both Houses of the Oireachtas in the next year - there may also possibly be a referendum - the experience and performance of those 16 Members in the other House will be one of the main reasons people should pause to reflect on the need for the Seanad, given the skills of the parliamentarians concerned. I wish them well in their endeavours. I also extend a welcome to our new Member, Senator Darragh O'Brien.

As I said before the general election, we should make the most of the time that remains in the 23rd Seanad and meet on several occasions. However, that will depend on the co-operation of the incoming Government. There are matters we could debate, including, for instance, the programme for Government, a useful document which follows through on the fiscal policy of the previous Government because our options are limited. The 23rd Seanad could contribute to the discussion on certain items before the programme for Government is implemented. Outstanding legislation, in particular Private Members' Bills, could also be finally debated in this House before the incoming Government decides on its legislative programme. For example, the Private Members' Mental Health (Involuntary Procedures) (Amendment) Bill 2008 has gone through Second and Committee Stages. A Report Stage debate would be useful in our remaining time.

I agree with Senator O'Toole regarding the essence of political reform. It must be founded on the reform of local government, the devolution of power from the central to the local and on ascertaining the best structures of local government, be it the town district model or the regional county council model. These are the choices we should make. Like Senator O'Toole, I fear that we will engage in a cosmetic exercise on the number of Houses we have and the number of Members we have instead of an analysis of the decisions at each level of government and where they can most appropriately be made. This is the debate we need. While we have had a general election where opinion swung wildly and the electorate reacted to the situation in which we find ourselves, we have yet to have a real debate on the nature of the country we should become. I wish the new Government every success and hope it can have that debate to ensure our future is founded on that type of principle.

To be somewhat facetious about my party and its participation in government, we have had a baptism of fire, a communion of fire and a confirmation of fire, but we have not had an extreme unction of fire. I look forward to the time when my party will be represented in the Lower House again. We have experiences of other European countries. It is ironic that, as the Twenty-third Seanad comes to a close, my party now has a larger representation than the Labour Party and one less than Fine Gael. Maybe that is a portent for the future. I wish the new Government every success in its legislative programme.