John Gilroy (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank my colleague, Senator Marie-Louise O'Donnell, for allowing me to share her time.

The most important element of any debate on reform must be political honesty. I have heard calls on the other side of the House for Government Senators to defy the party Whip and go against the wishes of the Government. This places Government Senators in a particularly invidious and absolutely contradictory position because the Whip system insists that Government Senators support the Government. If a Government Senator were to vote against the Government, he or she would lose the party Whip and, with that, his or her influence. One could be accused of political cowardice for doing so.

I am a rapporteur on suicide prevention for the Joint Committee and Health and Children and I will be bringing my report to the committee. If I were to vote against the Government, I would lose that influence on the committee. It is not just a matter of mindlessly supporting the Government. Some people very often fail to realise the complexity of the position of Government Senators.

The Whip system is definitely the main impediment to the proper working of this House. To be honest, there are several times when I felt there were positions I could not support but, since I did not want to lose my influence regarding the very important work I felt I was doing on suicide prevention and in order to achieve other aims in other areas, I had to compromise and support a position I was not entirely happy with. That is the complexity of this matter. It goes both ways. Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin have changed their positions with regard to this matter. Senator Leyden denies this but I have in front of me information stating Fianna Fáil will support the abolition of the Seanad. This is clearly written in page 34 of its election manifesto. Honesty must go both ways. I have been honest with regard to my position, that of the Labour Party and of Government Senators. I request all Senators to recognise the complexity of the position of some Senators. Others may not be in so complex a set of circumstances but all should be honest about their positions and the changing of positions.