Deirdre Clune (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Tánaiste and Minister of State for attending the House for this debate. This Bill follows on our discussion yesterday with the Taoiseach. Over the years, there have been many suggestions that the Seanad should become more involved in scrutinising EU proposals. Since the Lisbon treaty, the role of national parliaments in EU legislation has been greatly strengthened. We are now charged with managing business through the scrutiny of European Commission proposals, holding Governments to account for their decisions at EU level. This has become a critical aspect of national parliaments’ work.

Prior to the Government's taking office, the Joint Committee on European Scrutiny dealt with all issues concerning EU legislation and reported to both Houses. Since 2011, EU scrutiny has been passed to the various relevant committees. Some claim that these committees merely rubber-stamp proposals, but there is much scrutiny. I am a member of the Joint Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, which does consider EU proposals and has regular comprehensive reports and follow-up reports from the relevant officials. Prior to every Council meeting, the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Bruton, and the Ministers of State, Deputies Perry and Sherlock, attend the committee for a briefing. Much work, more than had been done previously, is being done in this area by the committee. All the work is also available on the Oireachtas website.

All committees have a home page and one can see it at a glance. The Oireachtas Joint Committee on European Affairs has prepared a report on information notes submitted by Departments. Far more work is being done in this area than rubber-stamping.

The 2004 cross-party report on Seanad reform advocated the House playing a greater role in the scrutiny of EU directives and this debate has raised questions on how this would be done. The Tánaiste stated the Government was examining how the system of scrutiny by existing committees worked. Nothing is perfect immediately and what has been established must have time to bed down in order that the rough edges can be ironed out and the system expanded and improved. It has been acknowledged that the committee system established by the Government when it took office did not work and it was quickly changed. We are now examining how the scrutiny of EU directives works. If we were to follow the proposed legislation to the letter, whereby all directives prior to signature by the Minister and all statutory instruments in the public interest prior to enactment would be debated by the Seanad, there would be a certain level of duplication of the work of committees. Every Senator is a member of a committee, as are Deputies; therefore, we must ask where the Dáil would fit into the proposal. These are relevant questions which have been highlighted and focused on. The level of scrutiny by some committees is better than by others. That is what needs to be focused on to see how it can be improved.

Yesterday the Taoiseach stated a group comprising political leaders in this and the other House had been established. It involves Senators and outside groups with an interest in making the Seanad more relevant. To adopt legislation at this point would probably be premature, but I agree with the Tánaiste that these proposals will feed into the discussions. I hope the Seanad will have a role, but at this point we should agree to differ on the legislation and move forward, as we discussed yesterday with the Taoiseach, on establishing how we can enhance the role of committees, the Dáil and the Seanad. As the Tánaiste stated, our wishes will be heard and responses forthcoming.