Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)

Last Saturday marked not alone the 93rd anniversary of this House but also that of the Lower House. It says a lot for us as a Parliament that this event was not marked. Saturday was also the 93rd anniversary of the start of the War of Independence. I was honoured to be in Soloheadbeg for the commemoration and am also honoured to be on the 2016 commemoration committee to which a former Member of this House, Maurice Hayes, has been appointed by the Taoiseach as an advisor. He stated of 2016 - the quotation is from a newspaper so we all know how accurate that can be - that he can see the date being marked by a series of seminars. I do not believe the people of this country expect such an historic event to be marked by seminars.

In regard to the Seanad and reform thereof, there are things we can do in this House. Deputy Seán Sherlock spoke yesterday about a statutory instrument. It might be news to the broader public outside the House that 75% of all legislation in this country is done by way of statutory instrument, without any scrutiny by any legislative official. Ministers sign EU directives into Irish law at a rate of 733 per year. I ask the Leader that this House be given the role of scrutinising statutory instruments as they have a considerable effect on Irish life, as we all know. They deal with everything from the septic tanks issue which is being raised throughout the country, to issues concerning bogs, water directives and others. All those issues come about because of statutory instruments that sail through this Parliament, signed by Ministers without as much as a by-your-leave to the democratically elected people of this country.

When one considers that we are responsible for only 25% of the laws enacted every year in this country one must wonder whether the system is working. The answer, obviously, is that it is not.