Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

-----of that there is no question, human nature being what it is - but we must move on. We have to amend the whole structure and give all people a vote. One of the main arguments made concerned the elitism of the House. People believed they should have had a say in the election of the House and this will have to be rectified in some way with whatever reforms we make to the electoral system.

I agree there have been many ill-informed comments about the House and its functions. I was surprised by the number of people who were so ill-informed, who I would have expected to know these functions. Many commentators I believed would have known better made outrageous statements about what the House could and should do but they were ill-informed about the functions of the House.

We have made progress on public consultation and have reformed in this area. Consultation is working but can do better. We were criticised for having the young "Senators" attend but as one who was present that day I believed the occasion worked very well.