Michael Mullins (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister of State. There is an old Irish saying, tús maith leath na hoibre. The Government is not claiming it has a panacea here for political reform. A good start has been made and this Government, in a very short period of time, has signalled its intention to do many things differently and to clean up many problem areas throughout the political system. This is a very useful exchange of ideas.

Senator Cullinane said the Government had decided to abolish the Seanad but only the people can decide that. Looking back at the last Seanad, there was much discourse in the public arena that there was something fundamentally wrong with the Seanad. We have made a very good start and there is a real commitment among all Senators to put their best foot forward.

On my way to the House yesterday morning, I spoke to one of the ushers at the front gate who said that in recent years, we were on holidays on 2 July but that we would be here up to the end of July, with this House working on behalf of the people. A real business-like approach is being adopted by this Seanad and there is a real commitment among all Senators to ensure the people get value for money, that we oversee legislation and have meaningful debates and discussions. We had an excellent debate yesterday with the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Deputy Simon Coveney. That he had an outstanding grasp of his brief added to the occasion, the interaction and the meaningful role of this House.

In regard to PPS numbers, I agree with much of what has been said by all Senators about the inaccuracy of the current electoral register, how it is not fit for purpose and that something fundamental needs to be done. I appreciate the Minister of State might not be able to take this on board now. The PPS number has many functions. We spoke a lot about social welfare fraud when the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Joan Burton, was in the House. We need a fundamental review across all Departments of how the PPS number can be used to trigger all sorts of services, including the electoral register and social welfare benefits. Everyone has a PPS number, although we heard anecdotal evidence that some people have several PPS numbers. We must find a way to ensure everyone has only one PPS number and that we can verify, on a regular basis, that a person is still living and that the PPS number is in use. If we perfect that system as well as we can, it could then be used for electoral purposes.

We boast about the fact that we are technologically very advanced, so there is no reason we cannot use the technology available to ensure we eliminate social welfare fraud, about which Senator John Kelly spoke so eloquently the other day, and use the PPS number to ensure the electoral register is correct. I would like to see the day when one could go to a machine on election day, key in one's PPS number and vote, irrespective of where one is in the country. That is what we would like to see happen but I know we are some way from that yet.

I urge the Minister of State to raise with his Cabinet colleagues the issue of the PPS number, its use in the future and how it can be streamlined. That is political reform which is long overdue.