Ivana Bacik (Independent) | Oireachtas source

A number of us raised the issue of Seanad reform on the Order of Business yesterday in the light of the announcement of proposed changes to the university panels. I am delighted the Cabinet signed off on the proposal to amend legislation on the Seanad electorate for the university panels to extend the franchise to graduates of all third level institutions. Today's newspapers report that this could mean as many as 750,000 people having a vote, which is a significant expansion of the electorate, given that the current electorate for Trinity College Dublin and the National University of Ireland is approximately 150,000. The legislation will need to be enacted well in advance of the next election to make it practically workable and it is welcome that it will be published in the new year. I understand there will be consultation, which is also welcome, but it needs to be introduced without delay. Will the Leader schedule a debate on it early in the new year?

I omitted yesterday to refer to the sad death of Fr. Alec Reid who played such an important role in the peace process in Northern Ireland. Last week, in the light of the comments made by John Larkin, the Northern Ireland Attorney General, a number of us asked for a debate early in the new year on the peace process and the difficult negotiations under way not only on how to deal with the past but also on current issues such as flags and parades. It has been some time since we had a debate on Northern Ireland issues, although I acknowledge the Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement has regular meetings. However, it would be good to have a debate in the House.

The appalling treatment of Marie Fleming and Tom Curran by the HSE is awful. The bureaucracy they had to encounter is troubling, given the difficult position they are in. However, as the Tánaiste said, we need to move to address the core issue for them - the right to die - and to examine again how we can ensure legislation is amended to bring it within the terms of the Constitution to make sure we allow defences to the current offence of aiding and abetting suicide where somebody is the position of Marie Fleming and Tom Curran. We owe it to them to look carefully at that issue, on which I would like to have a debate in the new year.