John Crown (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank my colleagues who have been so generous in their praise for the Bill. I thank them for sharing the credit for this legislation with Mr. Shane Conneely, Ms Aoife Casey and the rest of the team. When the Taoiseach came here some months ago for the first time and the issue of the future of the Seanad arose, I remember thinking he had the demeanour of a vegetarian butcher coming up to Christmas. He was basically saying, "I will not eat you, but I have to look after the others and if they want to eat you, I will have to serve you up." When I look at my colleagues in this House, I sometimes think we look like a bunch of turkeys who are not exactly voting for Christmas but perhaps hoping Christmas will be hijacked by Buddhists and become a vegetarian feast. The arguments made earlier in the debate by the Minister, Deputy Phil Hogan, with great respect to him, were the most irrelevant and dismissive I have ever heard.