Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I also wish to offer my congratulations to Senator Naughton and to welcome her to the House. I wish her every success and I hope she will enjoy many pleasant days here. As a former Taoiseach's appointee - I was first appointed in 1989 - I can inform her that have had many enjoyable years as a Member of the Seanad. I hope the Senator will be here for as long as I have been and that she will enjoy her time in the House as much as I have done.

I second Senator Darragh O'Brien's amendment to the Order of Business. As Chairman of the Committee of Selection, I wish to express my concern about a particular matter.

I ask the Leader that in the cold light of day, perhaps when the House resumes in September, Members might re-examine the position vis-à-visthe Committee of Selection and the Committee on Procedure and Privileges. The power of the Committee of Selection has been usurped and its functions set aside and one must sincerely ask whether it is required at all in the future, if a special amendment or resolution forced through after the Order of Business can either eject people from or place them on committees? If this is the case, I will be quite happy for the committee I chair to be put into the long grass and forgotten about. However, there is concern in this regard and what happened was inappropriate and unnecessary because the Committee of Selection could have convened fairly promptly. Were it not for Senator Kelly's refusal of or reneging on the offer made to him out of loyalty to his former Labour Party colleague, Senator Heffernan, I would not even be speaking today, as it would have been a fait accompli. However, I have concerns in this regard and while I not wish to be adversarial and it is not a task for today, I ask the Leader that over the summer months, Members should reflect on the committee's function and whether it is required or necessary. If not, perhaps the committee I chair should be disbanded.