John Gilroy (Labour) | Oireachtas source

We had a debate in the House before the summer recess dealing with rare diseases. Rare diseases, by their nature, affect very few, yet the Visitors Gallery was full of such people and their families. It was a platform. The Seanad gave a platform where there is no other platform available for those whose voices are seldom heard. That is a good example of where the Seanad does valuable work.

Like other Senators, I could talk all day. I know I will not be in the next Seanad. It is a cynical view to say that all of this discussion about the Seanad is self-serving. Like I said, I will not be in the next Seanad and, if there is such a Seanad, most Senators here will not be. It is ungenerous at least to accuse us of being self-serving. We will be discussing this on a considerable number of occasions again and I will have much more to say about it. I thank the authors of the document for giving us the opportunity to do so.