David Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

There is a reference to €21 million. It is a huge waste of money. I hope we will have money for an advertisement about abolition day. When abolition day was announced, the then Leader of the Opposition in this House, the then Senator Frances Fitzgerald, gave the greatest jaw drop in recorded history, because the Taoiseach, Deputy Enda Kenny, did not even have the courtesy to tell her that he proposed to abolish the Seanad. He did not even know at that stage that he had to ask the people for permission. He was going to do it all by his little self. There is a touch of the political groundhog day about abolition day as well. This has been done before. We have been here before in another bloody expensive, futile political exercise and then they reversed it. They might have to do it. I am calling this political groundhog day.

I said the Government is disorganised and that the people on the Government side of the House are clearly disorganised. They would have to be. They are either disorganised or witless, because they are voting for their own abolition. That is the maddest thing I ever heard in my life. They are disorganised because of the way in which the Bill is being taken. I tabled an amendment to the Title of the Bill and I would have thought that it would be discussed. It is on page 4 and I would have thought page 4 came before page twenty something. The amendment I had was a proposal to allow the people to exercise their democratic right to vote whether to retain Seanad Éireann or to concentrate all power in one Chamber and the political parties who have membership of that House. That is a perfect description of what is being proposed.

I take it that you will be back in the Chamber to deal with some of the amendments, a Chathaoirligh, because I wish to ask about the instructions you might have received from Government. I am very suspicious. I will make a request under freedom of information because I would like to know. I hope you will be back in the Chair, a Chathaoirligh. The next time I see you I will ask the question directly of you. You will have plenty of time to think about it in light of the fact that I am making a freedom of information request on what contact there was between the Cathaoirleach’s office and Government, either directly or second hand, giving instructions to the way in which amendments were to be treated. This is not the view of the Cathaoirleach because it is plainly rubbish.

The other point I wish to make relates to the abolition day. I have to laugh at the way the Government stuck out three cábógs who had all been in the Seanad themselves. That is an interesting approach. When one looks at the way people have behaved in the other House and in this House, it reminds me of when they abolished Grattan’s parliament. I am pleased to say I had relatives in both Houses and they voted against the abolition but the rest of them were bought off.