Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Rather than ask the vast majority of Irish people a question that denies them the possibility of ever considering reform, we should amend this proposal. I recall the words of George Washington, who is said to have told Thomas Jefferson that the framers of the American Senate designed it to cool legislation, just as a saucer cools hot tea. Madison talked about the Senate as a necessary fence against the fickleness and passion that are intended to influence attitudes of the general public and members of the House of Representatives. We should be no less ambitious for Seanad Éireann. I ask colleagues, particularly those on the Government side, not to vote this legislation through.