Paddy Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Today is an important milestone in the history of this Chamber and of this Parliament. It marks the 90th anniversary of the establishment of the 1922 Seanad.

The first Seanad consisted of a mixture of Members appointed by the President of the Executive Council and Members indirectly elected by the Dáil. The appointments system was designed to provide representation for minorities or interests not adequately represented by the Dáil, in effect giving a voice to Unionist representatives and people of specialist knowledge and experience or with a record of public service. Among those who sat in this Chamber were William Butler Yeats, Oliver St. John Gogarty, Sir Horace Plunkett, Jenny Wyse Power, Douglas Hyde and Alice Stopford Green.

Since its inception, the Seanad recorded a remarkable record of initiating and amending legislation, with notable and inspiring contributions and an impressive level of debate.

The modern Seanad Éireann was established by the Constitution of Ireland in 1937. The new Seanad Éireann is comprised of 60 Members, 43 elected by five panels representing vocational interests, namely: culture and education; agriculture; labour; industry and commerce; and public administration. Six Senators are elected by the graduates of two universities, three each from the National University of Ireland and the University of Dublin, Trinity College. Eleven Senators are nominated by the Taoiseach.

The spirit and intent of the Seanad to represent minorities and provide a platform to those with specialist experience and to contribute to a healthy and robust democracy carried through to the new Seanad. In the past, Taoisigh have used their nominations to appoint respected people from Northern Ireland, such as the late peace campaigner, Gordon Wilson, and Seamus Mallon of the Social Democratic and Labour Party. Benjamin Guinness, Lord Iveagh, sat as a Taoiseach's nominated Senator from 1973 to 1977 while he was also a Member of the House of Lords.

Today, Seanad Éireann is playing a greater and more effective role in our parliamentary democracy. This newly-elected Seanad is determined to modernise its procedures and actively engage with civic society. To begin this process, we have changed Standing Orders to allow persons and representatives of public and civil life to address Seanad Éireann. Among those to address the Seanad under the new rules were: Drew Nelson, grand secretary of the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland; Mary Robinson, former Senator, President of Ireland and United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights; and Maurice Manning, president of the Irish Human Rights Commission and chair of the European Group of National Human Rights Institutions.

The Seanad Public Consultation Committee, which was established as part of the new procedures to open access to Seanad Éireann and its work, is to specify and publicise areas related to the legislative powers of the Seanad and issues of public policy and to invite submissions from public interest groups. It provides a powerful opportunity to strengthen dialogue between the Seanad and the public. It is also a very public forum for debate and discussion on a wide range of subjects in the area of public policy. To date, the Seanad Public Consultation Committee has published a report calling for wide-ranging amendments to existing legislation to bolster the rights of older people and has sought submissions from interested groups or individuals on how government and society can respond to the challenge of preventing cancer through healthy diet, physical activity and weight management.

These new rules allow for a vibrant and effective Seanad where we can learn about and increase our understanding of the major issues facing our people. The changes will enable us, as parliamentarians, to provide a real and valuable input into initiatives to meet the key challenges and concerns facing our society today.