Caít Keane (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister who is a busy one. The Bill is most welcome. Democracy is about the people and our political system must listen to the views of the electorate - ordinary people - on the reality of their lives. Many believe there is a disconnection between politics and the ordinary citizen. In this context, the constitutional convention can go a significant way towards resolving the issue of the democratic deficit. I welcome the methodology to be used to choose 60 members from the electoral register. The Bill is enabling legislation to provide such a facility. The programme for Government contained a commitment to better equip the Constitution to meet the challenges of the 21st century and the Bill will allow the methodology to be chosen to fulfil the commitment given.

This is an important and exciting initiative that represents an innovative approach to examining constitutional reform. As we have read, the constitutional convention will be asked to consider a range of matters in the next year or so. It is proposed that it will also review the Dáil electoral system and giving citizens resident outside the State a part to play. It is welcome that women will be encouraged to participate more in public life. The removal of blasphemy from the Constitution is another matter that will be considered and ordinary people will have a say in all of these matters. They will also have an opportunity to pick one or more issues they consider necessary for discussion. They might consider the Seanad in that respect, although I do not know if that is possible. I hope it will be.

Section 1 which inserts a new subsection (3A) in section 13A of the Electoral Act 1992, as inserted by the Electoral (Amendment) Act 2001, states a person may use information in the register prepared under section 13. I will skip that part as the Minister has referred to the issue.

According to the way the Bill is set out, the measure will be broadly representative of society, according to gender, age, regional balance and social balance. How the latter is handled will be important to ensure all sectors of society will be represented. Provision has also been made for a budget, which is important, and training will be provided for the members selected. That is an important aspect and it is done in other countries.

The Minister is responsible for the electoral register. We did not have an opportunity to debate the issue with the Tánaiste and I do not expect the Minister to answer the questions that would have been raised with him. The manner we left the Tánaiste sitting outside the Chamber for more than an hour was disgraceful when we could have availed of his presence to obtain information in the House.

Senator Sean Barrett mentioned interest groups, many of which have expressed an interest. I hope everyone - interest groups, individuals and whoever else has an idea - will have an input into the methodology to be used. It was said there would be a dedicated website for the purpose. That avenue could be made available to ordinary people not selected from the electoral register to have an input into the process. I do not think the names of those chosen should be made available as they could be inundated with personal emails. The Minister must consider whether the names should be published. It would be useful if the individuals chosen were provided with a website to access all information received from the public.

It was indicated that the JobBridge programme might be considered in making information available on the Internet. The Minister stated the provision of an IT facility would not be rocket science and that it could be done in-house. It is important to get this right. As we know from the Ulster Bank fiasco, serious problems can occur with information technology and we would not like anything of that nature to occur with the electoral register because it is such a serious document. I hope it will be ensured whoever is chosen is competent to do the job.

An important aspect of the constitutional convention is that the Government has publicly committed to responding to each of its recommendations within four months. I am sure this commitment will be honoured. Today we are providing for the participation of citizens in the convention by means of the Bill which addresses one of the main criticisms of previous attempts to initiate constitutional reform. There was a previous attempt 20 years ago and much excellent work was done, but only two referendums followed, in spite of numerous recommendations being made. I am confident that that will not be the case this time because of the commitment given and the methodology chosen which will ensure transparency in the selection of citizens from the electoral register.

The success of the constitutional convention will also hinge to a great extent on the level of engagement with the public. As I said, the provision of a website is important and I hope other methodologies for the receipt of submissions will be found. It is a terrific opportunity for members of the public to become involved in this important innovation in public life. I hope those approached to participate in the convention will take the opportunity to contribute to this exciting development in politics, for which I commend the Minister.

I cannot conclude without mentioning the group, We the Citizens. Many of its recommendations, under the chairmanship of Senator Fiach Mac Conghail, have been incorporated into the Bill.