Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Tomorrow, two referendums will be held in which the people will be asked to vote, the first of which affects this House. While it does not particularly affect those Senators present today or the 60 Members of Seanad Éireann, it affects future generations and it affects our democracy. For 800 years, we struggled to obtain independence. For 800 years, we did not have a defined role in making our own laws for our own people. For 800 years, we struggled in a tyrannical situation. We now find ourselves in a situation in which Europe is playing an ever increasing role in our democracy and in the laws that dictate in our country but they are not being scrutinised in this Oireachtas in any way. Moreover, Senator Ó Murchú made reference to this yesterday, there may well be a darker side to the European and German influence in trying to reduce democracy and the voice of the people within Ireland's Parliament and to have more federalisation at a European level. This would be a step in the wrong direction. While the making of laws is important to our people and the implementation of those laws costs millions and millions, yet there is a refusal to debate the laws adequately by refusing to engage in real political reform at a time when it was never needed more. This is a false dawn and is a political consequence. When one considers the other House, in which the Fine Gael, Labour Party and Sinn Féin Deputies, that is, 127 Deputies out of 166, are advocating to get rid of this House, one must ask why.

As for the other referendum to be held tomorrow, I believe the Government and the commission, particularly the former, should have engaged with the electorate more substantially on the serious referendum on the appeals court. I believe it is an important referendum that affects the legal system. It is a dangerous referendum in the sense that it is not addressing the waiting lists or the legal costs associated with the court system and I believe the Government has done the people a disservice by not engaging in debate on that a referendum. How dare the Government ask the people to vote in a referendum on which it was not willing to debate? Then again, where is the Taoiseach?