Denis Landy (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Taoiseach. No more than his county footballers, he has a habit of coming back for more. We welcome the fact that he is in the House to discuss the outcome of the referendum. We appreciate that he has given us two hours of his time for an open and constructive debate. If we had not had a referendum on 4 October, we probably would not be discussing the matter today. The fact is that we did have a referendum and we are discussing reform of the House with the Taoiseach of the day in this House. That is a good thing.

As I am probably the fifteenth speaker, I will not go back on many things that have been said already. I will focus on one area, that of committees and their role. When I became a Member two and a half years ago, having spent almost a quarter of a century in local government, I slotted into a system that had been in place for many years. Under the current system a select committee can be set up by the Dáil to deal with particular legislation from which the Members of this House are excluded, despite the fact that it may be discussing a health issue on which Senator John Crown could contribute, a business issue on which Senator Feargal Quinn could contribute or an issue to do with journalism on which my colleague Senator John Whelan could contribute. That system is not using the expertise sent to this House. I ask the Taoiseach to consider abandoning the whole idea of select committees.

Among the proposals for reform of the Dáil under the putative unicameral system, there was a proposal to set up a new system of committees. That system was to have four strategic committees to deal with public accounts, EU scrutiny, finance and social affairs. It was also to have seven other committees. As there is no mention in that system of the role of Senators, we must revisit the issue. The d'Hondt system was mentioned for the selection of chairmen, but again, there was no mention of Senators. If we are to work as a group who, without doubt, have the most recent mandate from the people, we must forget about many of the proposals that were on the table and start afresh. I see great scope for bringing the expertise of this House to the whole committee system. I should say also that in my limited experience of two and a half years, committees produce reports that go nowhere. We spend days and days downstairs in committee rooms and at the end of the process we do not see any outcome.

The primary purpose of this House and the Dáil is to legislate. I suggest putting all the expertise in this and the lower House to work to increase the volume of legislation going through both Houses to ensure better outcomes for the people. If the referendum process achieves that it will have done much. It will incorporate the Members of this House who are expert in particular areas and increase the volume of legislation. Of course we can deal with EU scrutiny. I spent six years on the committee of the regions examining EU legislation pertaining to local government. However, the wider area mentioned by Senator Colm Burke, which is extremely important, is passing is by. Members are available and willing to do it. We all have expertise in certain areas.

Again, I thank the Taoiseach for coming in. It is appreciated. I hope we can move forward.