Mark Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We need reform of the Dáil and the Seanad. This country suffers from a national democratic deficit unparalleled in the Western world. Consider this, only 2% of the laws passed in Ireland every year are debated and scrutinised by the Dáil and Seanad. The other 98% are made by way of EU regulations, directives and statutory instruments brought into effect by Ministers and Ministers of State and by the EU without any consideration by this House. If one were to think of a country in which only 2% of its laws were scrutinised by the parliament one would say the UN should be brought in. Any country with that level of democratic deficit would be worthy of EU intervention.

Deputy Emmet Stagg said that the scrutiny of statutory instruments does not happen. Last August for the first time Ireland brought in organ transplant legislation. How was that done? Does anyone remember it coming before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and Children? Does anyone remember it coming before the Dáil or in here? No one remembers that because it did not happen. The Minister for Health came back from his holidays last August and signed an EU directive into law bringing into effect 64 pages of legislation on organ transplantation.

All the organ donation organisations and those involved in that sector have serious concerns about the way that was done yet it was not debated here. Does that reflect a country that suffers from a democratic deficit? It most certainly does. The power rests, as we all know, in the hands of a few. It is time that democracy was restored to the people who were elected by the citizens of the country.

Some 184 years ago Daniel O'Connell, the Great Emancipator, ensured that Catholics got the right to vote. Some 95 years ago the franchise was extended to women and 45 years ago Nationalists marched in Derry for one person, one vote. There are 1.8 million people living in the North and 800,000 Irish passport holders living overseas, which represents 36% of those entitled to be Irish citizens under Articles 2o and 3o of our Constitution, yet we do not give them a vote. Of the 33 countries that are members of the Council of Europe only four do not give votes to their citizens overseas. We are in great company with Cyprus, Malta and Greece. Of the 196 countries in the world 115 give votes to their citizens overseas, but we do not do that. We have a diaspora of 70 million. We have passport holders living overseas, who number the combined populations of the cities of Dublin, Cork, Waterford, Galway and Limerick, to whom we do not give a vote. Why do we not give a vote to the 46,500 citizens who emigrated last year who are concerned about what is happening at home in terms of them deciding to come back home?

In Portugal 20% of the voters live outside the state yet they are all entitled to vote in their elections. Only four seats are ring-fenced for them, yet they have an entitlement to vote. I do not consider that to be practical here. I do not think the political establishment would allow one seat in the Dáil Chamber to be voted on by one person who is an Irish citizen living overseas or living in the North. In France 12 Senate seats are given to those representing citizens overseas but we will not do that here.

I commend Senator Crown and his legal team, including Shane and the others, on bringing forward this Bill. The fact that the Minister did not even address the Bill shows the contempt of the Government and why we need reform of the political system, of the Dáil and the Seanad. He as good as said: "we are getting rid of you and I am not even going to look at this Bill." As the Members of the Government parties opposite and the Government Deputies in the other House would know, the contempt shown by Cabinet Ministers towards the Dáil, towards the democratic system, is there for all to see because it is a rubber stamp exercise. The Cabinet holds the power. It brings forward the legislation. The TD's job is to get elected in order that he or she can rubberstamp legislation. We need reform of the entire democratic system. We have a national democratic deficit that is unparalleled.