Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)

I am quite happy to speak to the section but I like to reply to each individual who makes a contribution.

Senator Cullinane, for whom I have the height of respect, is perceptive but he appears to have missed the point. In his Second Stage contribution the Minister, Deputy Hogan, highlighted the Government's intention to reduce the size and the cost of Government. The change to the constituency commission's terms of reference proposed in the Bill will achieve that objective.

In terms of reducing the size and cost of Government, we must lead by example. The political system cannot ask of others what it does not ask of itself. We are asking various bodies across the country to slim down and implement various measures. The Senator made the submission previously, which seems to be a Sinn Féin mantra, on reducing wages and so on. There have been significant reductions in the salaries of politicians and so on. It will soon reach a point where only people of a particular class will be able to become Members of these Houses. As somebody from a working class background and the eldest of ten children reared in a cottage, and I still live in the garden of the house in which I was brought up, I want to see every child have an opportunity to participate here.