Michael Mullins (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister. I agree that we need a comprehensive debate on the constitutional convention. We lost an opportunity this morning to make a good start. We lost one hour in which Members could have made significant contributions to this debate. I know the Leader indicated that he would provide additional time after the motion had been passed to flesh out the issue. We damaged the credibility of the House by wasting 90 minutes in an unproductive manner and I hope we do not repeat it. We gave those who wish to see the Seanad abolished further ammunition to show that sometimes we do not take our work as seriously as we should.

The most important sentence in the programme for Government is that the convention is free to consider other relevant constitutional amendments that may be recommended by it. Obviously the Government has indicated that the convention should first deal with the topics listed in the programme for Government. The fact that sentence is included in the programme for Government will ensure that many more issues of interest to the people can be addressed. The 1937 Constitution is robust, but in 2012 we need to consider many other issues. This convention presents an opportunity to do that. I agree that this is a work in progress and we can build on it very significantly.

I welcome the fact that the register of electors will be used to select the 66 citizens. I am very concerned that many will be unrepresented by virtue of the inaccuracy of the register. I was appalled outside my own polling station at the recent referendum to find that people who had voted in the general election less than 18 months previously were no longer on the register. These elderly people had never moved house, had voted in all previous elections and had done so for up to 40 years, and then discovered they were not on the register of electors. The local authorities are responsible for the compilation of the register.