Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am accepting that one cannot do it, but the Government could have done it. That point has been made over quite a long period by many Senators on both sides of the House. If we embark on this route, it will lead to a situation where the proper and effective functioning of the House will be seriously challenged. All of us here are on one Oireachtas committee or another. When the abolition day comes, and it is decided that the Seanad should be abolished, we know how many members are in attendance at committees in the last 30 minutes or even before then. Invariably, it is recognised that because of the level of constituency work - which is part and parcel of the system of the Lower House - most members will obviously have to contribute a large proportion of their time to ensuring that they satisfy their constituents' needs in order to be re-elected. Therefore, we will not have an enhanced committee system, but rather a dysfunctional one. That, in itself, will have ramifications for the operation and effectiveness of these Houses. All these issues are coming into play and unless we highlight them in this debate it could well be too late when people become aware of the downside of this legislation.