John Crown (Independent)

I have asked previously and I am asking again - this is not an invitation or a summons but something in between - that the Taoiseach, as head of the national Parliament, come and speak to one of the Houses of the Oireachtas about his plans on the future of the Constitution and this House. I cannot understand how such a debate has not yet taken place. In many ways, apart from the ongoing economic catastrophe, one could argue that, in terms of the purity of parliamentary democracy, this is the most serious question we have to address. Many of us have strong feelings on the necessity of reforming both Houses. As I have said before, the primary architects of our misfortune were not the Members of the Seanad, whose worst sin was the sin of omission, of being asleep at the till, while the primary architects sat in the other House, with the Ministers they appointed. If we are to carry the country forward, there is a need for serious root and branch reform to look at the way we represent ourselves in both Houses. I, therefore, ask the Leader to urge the Taoiseach to come and discuss these issues with us.