Hildegarde Naughton (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I would like to put forward a few ideas on political reform. One that has been touched on by a number of Senators, including my colleague Senator Colm Burke, concerns EU legislation. I see a significant role for this House in discussing and scrutinising EU legislation. The majority of legislation now coming through the Dáil comes from the EU. I agree with Senator Burke in regard to the work programme. The workload in this regard is quite significant and we should perhaps look to set aside, for example, two Fridays a month to deal solely with EU legislation. I believe this House should take the lead on that.

My other suggestion is in regard to the Constitution. The status of the current Constitution is very topical. Although I do not have any scientific figures on it, there is a body of opinion that would suggest the current Constitution is not fit for purpose. It is over 70 years since it came into existence and our society and the needs of our citizens have changed significantly over that time. We need a holistic view of where we are now and where we see our country in 50 years' time. There has been a huge amount of debate on this - for example, on the amount of time our courts spend dealing with challenges to the Constitution. What I propose is a cross-party group that would look at drafting a new Constitution. This group would have technical backup and it would come before this House and the Dáil within ten or 11 months. The document would be a discussion point, a focal point for people to think about where we see our country and what we need within our Constitution for a modern society. That work would be very important and I believe this House should take the lead. It would also be important to engage with the public on this through focus groups throughout the country. This would be a very significant move in terms of political reform and is something the Seanad could champion.