Seanad debates

Wednesday, 17 July 2013

An Bille um an Dara Leasú is Tríocha ar an mBunreacht (Deireadh a Chur le Seanad Éireann) 2013: An Tuarascáil - Thirty-second Amendment of the Constitution (Abolition of Seanad Éireann) Bill 2013: Report Stage

 

6:35 pm

Photo of Darragh O'BrienDarragh O'Brien (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

This is a depressing evening. I have no selfish vested interest in the House. I served in the Lower House and I am proud to serve here. Like most of my colleagues, I do my best to serve the State and to do the job we are elected or appointed to do. I make no distinction between one Senator and another, we are all here to do a job.

I do not use the word likely but what has happened here tonight is shameful. Government Senators should be ashamed of themselves for their own dignity to come in here. Why should I listen to any argument they make on any item of legislation? What does it matter? They do not respect the House enough to stand up and fight for it. What is the point? Why should I even facilitate another Government amendment? Over 540 Government amendments were made this year in this House. They were either omissions or errors from Dáil Eireann when the prospective law comes into this House. Why should I or my colleagues facilitate the passage of any of these amendments? Why should I or my colleagues attempt to produce Bills or ideas for Government or to try to assist?

The Minister of State, Deputy Hayes, and I have had many good debates in the House. Only yesterday, another disgusting and disgraceful item of legislation, the Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Bill, was discussed in the House. The Minister for Justice and Equality essentially accepted Senator Barrett's amendment. Are we useless to the Government? Perhaps the Leader of the House or the Cathaoirleach can inform us about the Taoiseach's commitment on Second Stage, given on only the second time he was in the House in two and a half years, that he would be back here on Committee Stage and on Report Stage. Cá bhfuil an Taoiseach? Where is the guy? He is launching a book. He did not even come in here to listen to me. He may have no regard for me as a Fianna Fáil Member of Parliament but I would have thought he would have greater regard for fellow party members in Fine Gael and coalition partners in the Labour Party. At the very least, he could listen to us.

He has produced a Bill that is very simply about the abolition of the Seanad. There is no date for a referendum or anything about a referendum. Let us abolish it. What is in its place? Nothing. He may reform committees or put a few extra people in the committees but they cannot be run as they are. Let us watch the committees and, with the exception of the Committee of Public Accounts, we can ask people what is done there. What is done in the Joint Committee on European Union affairs? Nothing. It is a rubber stamp. Thousands of items of EU legislation come in, with over 75% of our laws passed in Europe, without any scrutiny. There is one yellow card under the Lisbon treaty and the State has made one observation on prospective EU law since the passing of the Lisbon treaty. It is a joke. For two years after we asked, the Leader of the House endeavoured to get us the facilities so that we can scrutinise EU legislation but he was refused.

It was not lost on me who I saw sitting in the Public Gallery while the vote was taking place. It was the boot boy, the Chief Whip, the Minister of State, Deputy Paul Kehoe, making sure that all Senators did what they were told to do. He is a boot boy and he acted in a thuggish way the last time he was in the House.

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