David Norris (Independent)

I am happy and honoured to second the motion. It is appropriate that we are taking it now. This was a victory for democracy in the House today, which is rare and unusual. I compliment all those who had the courage to vote in favour of democracy. What is being done against this House is a serious matter. Also, it is being done by someone who has never been a Member of this House. I do not recall ever seeing him in this House. Perhaps he did flit in once or twice.

There is a nasty odour emanating from this Chamber, a bit of a whiff reminiscent of what happened in the House of Lords about 200 years ago in terms of placemen, peerages, advantages and preferment. I wonder if some day history will not show that this type of thing has been going on here also. There is no question but that there is some degree of collaboration on the Government side in regard to the winding down of the Seanad. It is seen in all kinds of ways, including the absence of the ordering of business and Private Members' time. As the longest serving continuous Member of this House, I very much resent this. It is a serious step to lock-off one limb of democracy. It is not something that should be done on a whim as a brainstorm in front of a television camera. It was ill-thought out and there was no consultation on the matter with the Cathaoirleach or Leader of this House or with the Taoiseach's Cabinet colleagues. It came out suddenly and the justification given was that it was financial. What rubbish. It was an insult to anybody's intelligence but the voters are not stupid, they are quite canny. They were frightened into voting for the recent fiscal treaty. They knew there were risks, so they judged matters and made their decision, which we must honour and respect. By God, however, they have been given a free kick. I believe that if this referendum is put to the people, they will reject it because there are plenty of people who respect the Seanad. Regardless of that, all the people whom the Government has alienated will come out. I will be out too and will be campaigning on this matter. I will ensure that no sore is left unscratched because we have to have democracy.

There are decent, honourable, good people on all sides of the House who are called to politics as a vocation. However, we are in an unprecedented situation where every single lever of power in this land is in the hands of the Coalition. Thank God we have a decent and independent-minded President, but what if it were different? He was a member of the Labour Party but presumably he has withdrawn his membership since being elected. We are so lucky to have a man of that calibre.