Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an tAire Stáit go dtí an Teach. It is always good to see the Minister of State, Deputy Dinny McGinley, who is one of the more seasoned performers and has a fantastic way of distilling information. He is most welcome.

Political reform has been needed for a long time and there have been many reports on the issue. Some of my more experienced colleagues will know the number of reports which have been produced on Seanad reform. Unfortunately, none of them has been implemented. It is my personal view that we need reform of the Dáil and committee systems and I hope that will happen. We also need reform of local government.

There is no point talking about reform unless one is prepared to do something about it. Many will not be happy with the proposed reforms to considerably slim down the costs associated with and structures of local government. As we have a population of around 4 million, the country is over-represented in political terms. I would much prefer to see reduced representation but with properly resourced representatives because we need to attract high quality individuals into politics at every level. We are fortunate that, despite the difficult terrain in politics, we have good calibre politicians across all parties. This is due to the Irish pyche and a dedicated belief in public service which we have spread to the areas of human rights and equality. For example, for many decades Irish missionaries have travelled abroad and worked in the Third World to try to improve the quality of life of others who are a lot poorer than what we are. There are human rights campaigners, from whom leaders have emerged, including Mrs. Mary Robinson and others, who have made a significant impact internationally. That is why I believe the calibre of public representative in Ireland is particularly good, in spite of the fact that in some quarters politics is not seen as a noble profession owing to corruption on the part of a very small group which has been well and truly investigated.

We will have a period of extensive change in the next few years and I hope that what emerges will be a leaner, fitter and fit for purpose political system that will truly represent what needs to be represented. I hope it will ensure politics returns to a better place and we must all play our part. We must have a responsible debate on and discussion of this issue. We must ensure - we owe this to the country and future generations of citizens - we will work hard to restore the integrity of the political system from top to bottom. I have no doubt that this reforming legislation will play a key incremental role in achieving that objective.