John Whelan (Labour) | Oireachtas source

Would it be less elite?

I was elected to the Seanad from the dole queue. I come from 1266 St. Evin's Park in Monasterevin, which is a local authority housing estate. Everyone has his or her own story. The Seanad has a great diversity of representation, which is one of its riches. It represents and reflects a broad cross-section of Irish life, interests, perspectives, vocations, values and expertise. The Taoiseach has tried to rubbish what he has referred to as a 1930s vocational values system. There is nothing wrong with that. We do not need less expertise. I learn here from Members who contribute according to their life experience and expertise.

As Senator Mac Conghaile pointed out, rather than contributing to everything, perhaps Members would be better contributing only on their areas of expertise.

It is not true that the Seanad is not elected and has no mandate. For 30 years as a journalist, I covered council meetings. It has become fashionable to disparage the role of councillors but they are the building blocks of our democratic process and model. They are judged harshly by neighbours and peers in their communities, towns, villages and townlands. They must get over 1,000 votes in their communities. In turn, they have a mandate to elect a certain number of Senate seats. I see that as a mandate by proxy. The idea that people mushroom up and find themselves in the Seanad is not true. The same applies to the university panels. People must go before their peers for judgment. The idea the Seanad is elite is wrong.

The Taoiseach has taken no account of the 110 nominating bodies who take part in the process of putting forward people to contest the Seanad elections. This includes bodies like the IFA, IBEC, Chambers Ireland, trade unions and the Irish Exporters Association. Are we to take it that they are elitist? Has anyone consulted them about this process? I implore the Minister of State to take back to Government the need to put back the referendum. Why the indecent haste?

I would not like to have it on my political CV that I was part of the Government that marks and celebrates the centenary of 1916 by dismantling a key component of our democracy by abolishing the Seanad. That is how it will be marked in 2016. It is a short-sighted move and needs to be considered. It needs to go back to the Constitutional Convention. I implore the Minister of State to put a stop to this. We need more accountability, more transparency, more expertise and more discourse, not less.