Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)

I compliment Senators for the depth of their knowledge compared to the ignorance I must profess. Their contributions are well meaning and thoroughly researched. My praise is genuine. I do not engage in patronising speech and people will hear from me quicker than they might like if I think something is wrong.

Senator Mooney spoke about the fundamental reappraisal of the constituency commission model and reverting to the ethos of the founding fathers. His point is well made but the Constitution circumscribes his noble aspiration. Senator Mary White clearly missed the commitment Senator Mooney and I gave regarding the geographical integrity of counties. I feel as strongly about this subject as anybody and I have outlined my views on why it is important. Being told that a voter could not find a candidate's name in the polling booth reinforces the point. We would have to forego the constitutional provision on equality of representation to achieve that objective, however.

The constitutional convention may sound like a sop but it is more important than many of us think and we ought to start paying attention to it. As someone who sits at the Cabinet table, I am eager to see this happen because the commission's terms of reference are subordinate to the relevant constitutional provisions. We have to start there, irrespective of the points so clearly articulated by Senators. There is no reference to county boundaries in the Constitution. I could make a number of criticisms of the Constitution, apart altogether from trying to learn and remember it. I took the Constitution examination after returning from watching Everton play Liverpool in a cup final. I was a big Liverpool supporter but I did well on the Monday morning. The moral of the story is to relax before examinations. Perhaps we should start with the question of county boundaries.

Senator Cullinane asked a number of questions. The political funding Bill is being drafted and we hope to have it ready by autumn. It is time for politics to be taught as a real subject in our schools. That would include modules on how taxes are raised and spent and why a bicameral Legislature may be preferable to a unicameral one. The civic, social and political education syllabus is very good but it should be broadened to include lectures and tours.

Longford-Westmeath has no problem with candidate selection and gender quotas. I would not be miffed if I was defeated by a women in convention. My late mother, who propelled me into politics and who died unexpectedly, and my grandmother, who goes back to the Lockout, were never proponents of the gender quota. My mother was fiercely opposed to the idea of tokenism and she always believed that people would emerge. When I started in 1969, the chance of me standing before Senators today was minus 20, never mind zero. but we often discussed the issue as we sat on the aeroplane going on holiday to visit my uncles in England. I encourage women to get involved with my local party branch in County Westmeath. I will not stand in their way. Senator Mooney referred to the obstacles incumbents often create.