David Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Breathless as I am, I am very glad I am able to take part in this debate. I have just come from a very interesting debate with George Hook on Newstalk about the future of this House and am very glad to say that the response from the people, about whom the Taoiseach is always talking, was pretty positive in regard to keeping the Seanad. However, this was contradicted by the taxi driver who said that people were absolutely and totally uninterested.

I commend my colleague, Senator Feargal Quinn, on the wonderful work he has done, again. He has been an absolute mine of energy. It is extraordinary that somebody who has had such a distinguished business career, who should now be tinkling about with golf balls and so on, can do this amount of work. I believe I was one of the pioneers in introducing legislation in this House because it was not normal. I believe Senator Quinn will probably agree with me. In 2004, I introduced the Civil Partnership Bill, which although it did not make it at that point, put a bomb under the Government and we got things done. Since then, Senator Quinn has produced an array of Bills, one about defibrillators, the business contracts Bill which will become law and, tonight, this very important business. I remember raising this matter at the time. I could not believe those involved were doing this. It was the most insane thing I had ever heard. Not only that, I spoke and voted against it. As far as I remember, they did it in the context of adding VAT in the South on the very same day VAT was taken off in the North of Ireland. The Government's economic policies at that stage were riddled with this kind of thing.

The actual phrase "upward-only rent reviews" declares there is no choice, no flexibility. It was not this Government that brought about the situation but it will not surprise me if it opposes the proposed legislation because this is the kind of stuff it goes on with. Look again at the referendum - no choice. We are told retain or abolish. My taxi driver told me everybody in the taxi business wants to reform it and he would like to do so but since we have not been given that option, they are voting to get rid of it. I said to him that they should vote to keep it because the moral imperative will then be very strong. The Taoiseach has done us one little favour in this Chamber; he has put it on the agenda and it is my opinion that he now lacks the power to take it off the agenda. It is the same, the political equivalent, as the upward only rent reviews because it does not give flexibility to meet changed circumstances.

I believe the Government is afraid of Seanad Éireann. We are looking at one of the reasons for that in Senator Quinn and in my other colleagues, including Senator Barrett, whose economic advice the Government is happy to take. We are doing the work. There are 33 Bills on the Order Paper, including one from Senator Colm Burke on the Fine Gael side on medical insurance, to protect patients who unwittingly get themselves into the hands of a person who has no medical insurance. If something goes wrong in such a case and there is a medical botch those people are banjaxed. The Government agreed it was a good Bill and said it would support it although it needed a little bit of tweaking. I said it should take it in this House but the answer was "No", the dog in the manger attitude. The Government is starving us of legislation and is trying to show we are not doing our work-----