Katherine Zappone (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."

Ceapann an Seanadóir Quinn agus mé féin gur lá tábhachtach é seo i stair na hÉireann agus an Bille um an Seanad 2013 á thabhairt isteach againn. Táimid ag druidim go tapaidh ar chomóradh 100 bliain na n-eachtraí a bhunaigh ár Stát. Is é seo an bealach is fearr inar féidir linn ómós a thabhairt dóibh siúd a d'oibrigh ar son na saoirse - chun an daonlathas a chothú seachas é a chúngú. Mar sin, ag teacht leis an stair agus ag breathnú ar an mBunreacht mar cháipéis bheo, táimid ag moladh sa reachtaíocht seo Seanad Éireann a athnuachan agus a chlaochlú. With the introduction of the Seanad Bill 2013, Senator Quinn and I see this to be an important day in Irish history. As we fast approach the many centenary anniversaries associated with the foundation of this State, the best way we can pay tribute to those who sacrificed so much for our freedom is to open up our democracy, rather than to close it. In line with history and in viewing the Constitution as a living document, we are proposing in this Bill to renew and transform Seanad Éireann.

The Seanad is an integral arm of the governance of this country as laid down in our Constitution. Bunreacht na hÉireann has served the Irish people well. The abolition of the Seanad will disturb the essential democratic system of checks and balances on which our Constitution is founded and which, so far, has resolutely stood the test of time and change. Everybody should be clear that getting rid of the Seanad will remove a number of significant safeguards. This could have a negative impact on the Presidency, the independence of the Judiciary, the sovereignty of our Constitution in the context of EU law and the right of the people to be consulted on major decisions by means of a referendum or a general election. It is sensible that the Seanad provides some checks and balances on the power of a Dáil majority. In particular, a second chamber is a critical safeguard against rushed legislation. It is vital that Seanad Éireann should continue to play a valuable democratic and constitutional role as a revising chamber. The Seanad, with its inbuilt constitutional safeguards for the citizens and the State and its vital checks and balances, should not be abolished. It should be transformed to meet the needs of a modern Ireland and a working democracy.

This legislation is not about retaining the existing Seanad - it is about a reformed Seanad, a Seanad nua, a Seanad an phobail. The effectiveness of the Seanad has diminished because it is under-representative of the people and thereby does not serve the best interests of the people. It does not serve the interests of the majority or the minorities. The old Seanad is part of a system that did not stand in the way of an economic crisis that took away our sovereignty, our confidence and the jobs and prosperity of countless thousands. We need to recover and strengthen the Seanad's function as a check and balance to the Dáil and the work of the Executive. This is not the time to cut the number of outside voices and expert views, to reduce the amount of scrutiny on the laws that affects the lives of our people or to give the Civil Service an even freer hand to rule without query. That is what Seanad abolition would mean. Instead, we need a transformed Seanad.

This Bill is born out of the "Open it, Don 't Close it" consultation document that was published in September 2012. This document was the product of extensive consultation on the future of the Seanad. The reform process in this Bill is significantly advanced by means of simple legislation to alter radically the way the Seanad is elected and who is elected, the powers it holds and the way it does its business. I believe this will have the immense and positive effect of enhancing Irish democratic politics by further empowering citizens. It will ensure politics is not a closed shop. It will give a voice to ordinary people at the highest levels of policy and legislation implementation. This Bill breaks new ground. It sets out key principles that would underpin a new Seanad. We are proposing a House where all of us get a vote, not just an elite; a House made up of half women and half men; a House where people in the North and those forced into emigration have a say; a House where new voices and new expertise can constructively and positively hold the policies and ideas of the Cabinet, the Dáil, the parties and the regulators to greater account; and a House where EU and domestic legislation gets the scrutiny it deserves. All of this can be done right now through legislation without need for a referendum. Why should we delay?

In a departure from the current elitist approach, our Bill enunciates the principle that every person shall have a vote in a Seanad election. Our Bill broadens the pool of graduates who may vote in the university constituency in a fair and equal manner. By opening up the right to vote, we will necessarily democratise Seanad Éireann. The Irish Women's Franchise League was founded by Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington and Margaret Cousins in 1908, some 105 years ago. These two remarkable women deserve an honoured place in our history. One of the biggest gaps in Irish political life today is the under-representation of women in the Oireachtas. It is up to our generation to finally set this right. It has taken over a century. The measures in section 7 of this Bill, which would provide for a chamber of our national Parliament made up of half women and half men, is long overdue and heralds a new era of progressive politics.

Fifty years ago this summer, President John F. Kennedy addressed a special joint sitting of Dáil and Seanad Éireann. On that historic occasion, he spoke about the vast scale of Irish emigration to the United States. He quoted James Joyce who, for this reason, described the Atlantic Ocean as a "bitter bowl of tears". In every generation, emigration has left a scar on our national life. We are seeing its worst effects again today, as families are sundered by the forced emigration caused by our economic difficulties. My family background is rooted in emigration from these shores. I was born in Washington State to a mother whose people came from Virginia, County Cavan and Oldcastle, County Meath. It is for this reason, among others, that I am especially proud of the measures in section 31 of this Bill which will give Irish emigrants a vote for the first time in our national Parliament. In recent years, much has been made of the need to harness the talents and expertise of the Irish diaspora around the world. We can begin by giving the Irish abroad a vote in at least one major election.

I would like to speak about the proposal to extend voting rights to people in Northern Ireland who are entitled to Irish citizenship. Many people in Northern Ireland have a strong affinity with the Republic of Ireland. It is incumbent upon us to facilitate people in Northern Ireland who wish to avail of the opportunity to participate in Seanad elections and feel they have some voice and some level of representation in the democratic structures of the Republic. Wisely, this Bill does not specify that people in Northern Ireland who qualify for Irish citizenship have to take out such citizenship to vote in a Seanad election. The Bill recognises a fundamental core principle of the Good Friday Agreement whereby it is the birth right of every individual in Northern Ireland to identify themselves and be accepted as Irish or British, or both, as they may so choose. In a post-conflict Ireland, we need to open up a new space to deepen co-operation, respect and understanding on this island.

This Bill seeks to confer for the first time a clear and defined role on the Seanad as envisaged by the Constitution. Seanad Éireann was never intended to be a mirror image of the Dáil. We do not need two Houses trying to fulfil the same role. We have included in this Bill a set of new powers for the Seanad across a range of areas. My colleague, Senator Quinn, will outline them is fuller detail. We believe these new powers will supplement and revitalise the place and the role of the Seanad in the history of this State. At the last election, the Irish people made clear their desire for political reform which would ensure our democratic structures are more representative, transparent, accountable and effective. We believe the reform of the Seanad to be a central part of achieving that goal. Indeed, we believe our model of reform provides the Irish people for the first time in our history with a Seanad an phobail.