John Crown (Independent)

It is regrettable that at this stage, six months into the term of this Seanad, we have not yet had a debate - I ask the Leader to schedule one - with the Taoiseach on what is probably the most fundamental issue facing the Seanad, which is its own future, the existential crisis of a body which, according to stated pre-election Government policy, is to be abolished. I was reminded of this parenthetically last night when I attended the wonderful event that Dublin City University sponsored in association with its 21st anniversary, namely its access programme. This is a programme in which it has used a mixture of funding sources, mainly philanthropic donations, to provide financial and educational support to people from underprivileged areas who would not have had the opportunity for third level education otherwise, a programme which has benefited approximately 1,000 students over the years, which has been upgraded to take approximately 135 and will be increased next year. At a time when our country is facing substantial and systemic economic hardships and our citizens are facing curtailment of many of the opportunities which may have been available to them - I wish to praise DCU for this - and I note, in passing, that this large university has no university representation in the Seanad and that the university representation in the Seanad is anachronistically based on those entities which existed at the time of the foundation of the current Constitution. It is critical in considering the future of the Seanad that we address the question of broader Oireachtas reform. I speak as both an insider and outsider in this regard. I have no party political axe to bear. Nor am I in the position of some colleagues, whom I am continually surprised to hear have constituencies. I am not aware that I have a constituency, other than the graduates who elected me. It is important that we analyse what went wrong in this country and where the blame lies. Among the three major arms of Government within Leinster House, namely, the Executive, Dáil and Seanad, who was most culpable and who least culpable? Who was most guilty of falling asleep at the tiller? Who let the catastrophe develop around their ears? For all its problems, the Seanad was probably the least culpable of those three entities.