Caít Keane (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Paul Kehoe, to debate this important subject and also every opportunity to debate it. I commend Senator Katherine Zappone and all those involved in the attempts to have further engagement on the issue because we all agree that we have a mandate from the people for the reform of Seanad Éireann. We all agree that reform must happen in order to give the people an institution they can trust and believe in. The Taoiseach has taken the first steps by initiating what was agreed to 31 years ago but not enacted by any party since, namely, that graduates of third level institutions be given a vote and that the mandate be broadened. The Taoiseach has signalled that this will be done. The electoral system has been mentioned in ten reports. It has not been agreed in them that ours is the ideal system and we agree that it must be examined.

The aim of the education system should be to ensure all children attend college, regardless of type, suited to their intelligence. University is not necessarily suitable for everyone. There are multiple intelligences and the sooner we recognise that everybody has a sphere of intelligence the better. Everybody should be included as being worthy of having a vote. I would like to see the institutions of State engaged in education and the level of participation examined to establish for whom they cater. We should examine the level of engagement in third level education on a socio-economic basis, who qualifies in that respect and assist those not catered for in third level academia by way of the nominee system by the Taoiseach. A interesting socio-economic study of engagement in third level education was conducted by Mr. Duffy and Mr. McCarthy and it should be examined in the context of this debate to ensure that if we extend the franchise in Seanad elections, as many people as possible are included. I pose the question of whether granting universal suffrage which is worthy of debate would result in this House being a replication of the Dáil. Senator Katherine Zappone argues that it would not be. The constitutional motivation for having the Seanad and the reason it was formed was to provide for gaining the views of those from contrasting backgrounds with experience and expertise. Providing for universal suffrage would not guarantee this because, in theory, those elected could all be footballers, pop singers or doctors. It would not ensure we would have people from contrasting backgrounds with experience and expertise. I compliment the Taoiseach on his 11 nominees. He selected nominees from contrasting backgrounds with experience and expertise. He lived up to the principle in the Constitution. It was the first time the nominees had been selected from outside party politics, for which the Taoiseach must be commended. An interesting point to note is that if Ireland were to opt for a system of direct election to the Seanad or universal suffrage, it would literally be the only small, non-federal country in Europe to do so. This was said by Mr. David Farrell of the School of Politics at UCD in 2013.

In the interests of democracy, I welcome the proposal for the establishment of an all-party Seanad reform task force. The Leader, Senator Maurice Cummins, has enunciated how that task force would work. I look forward to its report which I think the Minister of State said would be published in early 2014, or else I read this elsewhere. I am not a member of the task force. Does "in early 2014" mean that the report will be published in the first six months of the year?

The Leader mentioned various reforms, some of which I had written down. Senator Marie-Louise O'Donnell referred to 112 proposals; there are, therefore, many proposals that could be examined. Political reform of this House, the Dáil and the committee system is very necessary. Every speaker who has contributed to the debate has spoken about this and how the Oireachtas committee schedule clashes with Seanad business. This is not good either for the work of the committees or that of the Seanad; both inevitably suffer as a result. Several years ago there was all-party agreement that there be a week dedicated to committee hearings. If we were to implement that proposal, we would do the legislative process a great favour.

As the Leader mentioned, previous reports on Seanad reform recommended that the Seanad be given a role in scrutinising EU legislation. Taking into consideration the fact that 60% of our laws come from the European Union, this is an ideal House in which to ensure proper scrutiny of EU legislation. Many speakers have spoken about the lackadaisical scrutiny of such legislation. Therefore, it is necessary that consideration be given to the timing and planning of legislation to ensure its efficient and effective delivery and implementation.

Our Leader spoke about that. I also support the recommendation that the Seanad have responsibility for examining public service appointments and reviewing the performance of all Departments and State agencies. We need a review of State agencies, as demonstrated last week. Another reform measure implemented over the past two years is opening up the Seanad to the wider community and bringing various groups into the Seanad. The Leader, Senator Maurice Cummins, deserves credit. It is envisaged that this offers a real opportunity for building bridges with citizens. The Leader spoke about MEPs. As a member of the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly, I agree this is another area that could be considered.