Dr. Mary Robinson:

It would also be likely to encourage people to dig in. This matter must be addressed with a great deal of discernment and subtlety.

To return to the question of what I would do if I was a Member of the Seanad today, in the current climate every institution and organisation in modern Ireland will be obliged to justify its existence. There is a great deal more scrutiny and - this is a good development - accountability. In this age of participation, the level of that accountability will increase. It may be good that a question mark has been placed over the 24th Seanad. What has happened means Members are thinking about the matter in a way all institutions should be doing in the context of evaluating whether they are responding to the needs of the age of participation. Those in the Seanad are not only thinking, they are also changing their ways of operating.

My final message would be to offer huge encouragement to Members in what they are doing. Whatever the future holds, it is out of the hands of Senators, as well as those of everyone else. Members should take heart from the fact that, to some extent, they are being obliged to justify themselves more publicly in order to provide leadership in a way which makes them more relevant. This does not just include the Seanad, it also includes what individual Senators do in their ways of operating. Like many others, I was listening to the radio this morning and heard a Member of this House refer to the need for children to take more exercise. I thought that this resonated well because the individual in question was speaking as a Senator and indicating that he was a Taoiseach's nominee and, therefore, had to find a way in which he could be more effective. I encourage individual Senators, regardless of whether they represent a party or of how they gained membership of the House, to voice whatever concerns they may have in public. They must make the point that they care about the issues at a time when there are many such issues about which to be concerned. They should proceed in a way that allows them to link what they are doing with this Chamber and must also take account of the possibility that issues with which they might be involved could be dealt with here at a later date.

I could go on, but my time is probably exhausted. Again, I thank Senators warmly. It was difficult to sit here and listen to such tributes. There is a downside and if my husband, Nick, were here, he would indicate what it is.