Mary Moran (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I, too, welcome the Taoiseach and thank him for giving of his time to debate the issue of Seanad reform.

Prior to and since the referendum I looked at proposals for parliamentary reform, applicable reforms in other jurisdictions and have engaged with various groups and individuals on the issue. We all agree that we have much on our plate and plenty of choices in terms of the avenue on which we want to proceed. I, too, welcome the Taoiseach's words following the referendum, recognising that we need political reform right across the board. His statement that he will extend the franchise to all graduates of third level institutions is important and will go some way towards reducing the perception of elitism.

Many of the Senators present are on the same page and have spoken about how we could reform the Seanad. I will speak a little about reforming the Chamber. As stated previously, this issue should be brought to the Constitutional Convention at the earliest opportunity. Like many other Senators, I have been involved in all of its debates and its reflections and discussions would certainly bring us a long way in discussing the issue.

One of the misconceptions that I come across, both at the Constitutional Convention and in meeting people in my own area in County Louth, concerns the lack of clarity about what Senators do. This was one of the big issues that I came across before the referendum. There is plenty of scope for discussion in this regard. As I said, it is welcome that this is the start of the discussion of what we could do and to show the worth of the work we do in this House.

I propose that an independent commission, committee or forum be set up to bring together all of the relevant proposed reforms, as well as to discuss possible new ways of reforming the House. It is important that this commission, committee, forum remain independent and that there not be any political influence in its decisions.

My honest assessment of parliamentary democracy is that the Lower House would not easily relinquish its control or power to the Upper House if it thought it would adversely affect its authority. That is why I urge the Taoiseach and other Members to push for an independent set of proposals to be put to the Houses for consideration. In order to have a successful democracy as envisioned in the Constitution, we need to give the Seanad powers to delay legislation and for it to be devoid of political influence in order to have true checks and balances to the Dáil and the Government.

Whatever path of reform is chosen, we must recognise that, in order for it to be seen as viable, this House must provide for some form of democratic representation. We must better define the role of Senators and better harness the expertise of Senators who come from various backgrounds and professions. I wholeheartedly agree that it is very important to do this. We must be a voice for those who have no voice and take the calculated step of providing for the representation of minorities in the State, as well as a section of the Irish Diaspora.

The business of the Seanad should be more rigorous to avoid the perception of it being a talking shop, as was bandied about before the referendum when, in fact, many of the debates held were constructive and helpful. We need to bring forward more legislation and push to have scrutiny of EU legislation take place in this House. We also need to have MEPs address the House more regularly. This practice has been introduced in recent months and it is important that we continue it. We need to provide value for money for the taxpayer and with these reforms, in conjunction with others, we could do so. Senators on both sides of the House will agree that we need to be our own advocates on the issue of reform. The push to have things done must come from us. We should see this as an opportunity to set aside political alignments and work together to do what is best for this House and the people. We should allow decisions on reform to be conducted independently and work towards securing an independent opinion and assessment, but we need to do this now.