Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Of the 49 elected members, six are titled university members. These are elected in two constituencies, three by the National University of Ireland and three by the University of Dublin. A separate register of electors is maintained for each constituency and the elections are run separately by the respective universities. At the 2011 Seanad election, there were some 98,000 voters on the National University of Ireland register and some 53,000 on the University of Dublin register, just over 151,000 voters combined. There is no prohibition on being registered to vote in both constituencies.

An important point arises in regard to the universities' franchise. In 1979 the people of Ireland approved by referendum the extension of the university franchise to other institutions of higher education in the State. That was 35 years ago this year. It is remarkable that until now no government has acted on the outcome of that referendum. However, the current Government is going to address that situation. Heads of a Bill are currently being prepared by the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Phil Hogan, to implement the 1979 constitutional amendment and reform the arrangements for the election of the six university members.

The legislation will provide for a single six-seat constituency and for one register of electors. The franchise will be extended to all holders of a degree, or equivalent qualification, from an institution of higher education in the State. It is intended that a broad definition would be applied so as to include universities, institutes of technology, other higher education institutions and private colleges. This will represent a significant expansion of the electorate in line with the outcome of the 1979 referendum. The general scheme of the Bill to extend the university franchise will be brought to Government in the corning weeks and there will be ample opportunity for input into the preparation of the legislation. The Government has agreed that the general scheme of the Bill will be referred to the Seanad, the Oireachtas Joint Committee on the Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht and other stakeholders, including the institutions of higher education in the State, for their consideration. Feedback from the consultation process will help inform the preparation of the Bill.

The Constitution provides that the remaining 43 elected members of Seanad Éireann are elected by Oireachtas Members and by members of city and county councils from five panels of candidates containing the names of persons having knowledge and practical experience of a range of interests and services. The Constitution further provides that these elections are to be regulated by law, subject of course to the provisions of the Constitution. The election of the so-called panel members is governed by the Seanad Electoral (Panel Members) Act 1947. Five Senators are elected from cultural and education panel, 11 are elected from the agriculture panel, 11 are elected from the labour panel, nine are elected from the industry and commerce panel and seven are elected from the administrative panel.

There are two sub-panels of candidates for each panel. Candidates are nominated to these panels by nominating bodies and Oireachtas Members. The Clerk of the Seanad, as Seanad returning officer, maintains the register of bodies entitled to nominate. To be eligible for registration as a nominating body, an organisation must be concerned mainly with, and be representative of, the interests and services of one or other of the panels. A body cannot be registered in respect of more than one panel, and organisations which are mainly profit-making concerns are not eligible for registration.

Those entitled to vote at an election of the 43 panel members are the Members of the incoming Dáil, the Members of the outgoing Seanad and members of the county and city councils. Each elector has only one vote in respect of each panel, even if he or she is qualified in more than one respect. So, for example, an outgoing Senator elected to the Dáil at the general election could not vote both as an outgoing Member of the Seanad and an incoming Member of the Dáil. The electorate for the 43 panel members numbered about 1,109 for the 24th Seanad. It will number 1,167 for the 25th Seanad - that is 158 new Deputies; 60 outgoing Senators and 949 local authority members.

The motion put down by Senator Zappone and other Senators calls for legislative reform of the Seanad within the existing terms of the Constitution but reflecting what the motion describes as two core principles, namely, that each citizen should have a vote in the general elections of the Seanad and that there should be one person, one vote in such elections. The motion mentions that some citizens have up to seven votes in a Seanad general election, while other citizens have no vote at all. It is important to clarify that the current entitlement to vote at Seanad panel elections arises not from citizenship but from holding elected office. If it was the intention, in framing the Constitution, that there would be a universal franchise for Seanad Éireann, then the Constitution would have so provided and the provisions on the election of the Members of Seanad Éireann would have mirrored those for the election of Members of Dail Éireann. The Constitution also stipulates that Members of the Seanad are elected by secret postal ballot. Arising from this provision, ballot papers are issued to voters by registered post. It is important to point out that the cost of running Seanad elections on a universal franchise, without a referendum to amend the secret postal ballot provision in the Constitution, would be quite significant. Based on the Seanad 2011 election, it costs €5.25 to send each ballot paper and that gives an indication of what it would cost to send a postal ballot paper by registered post to over 3 million electors. That would not include the cost of staff to administer the election and count the votes.

Today's amendment proposes that a task force, representative of the different parties and groupings within the Oireachtas, should in the first instance look at the question of electoral reform of the Seanad. The various parties or groupings in both Houses can present their proposals for such reform to the task force. Once the task force has examined the submissions and scoped out the nature and extent of the legislation proposed, including an examination of any possible constitutional implications, it will be in a better position to propose a possible timeline for the enactment of any such legislation. I should add that this process will be greatly assisted when the heads of the Bill to extend the university franchise are published over the coming weeks and are examined in detail. Scrutiny of this legislation, which arose from the referendum thirty five years ago, will provide a useful guideline for further reform of the Seanad election system. I note that Senator Zappone's motion proposes such a task force, as does the Government's amendment, so we are agreed on the main point. It should be possible to get such a task force established soon.

As I said earlier, the third option for reform would involve reverting to the people by way of referendum. There was broad consensus at the meeting of party and group leaders before Christmas that the question of constitutional reform could be considered at a later date. Let us first see what can be achieved through the procedural and legislative routes. We can then take stock of the situation. There is an imperative on all of us here today, on all sides of the House, to get on with the process of reforming the Seanad. Our aim should be, unlike the various reports and recommendations on Seanad reform since 1937 that remained on the shelf, to ensure that this time there is action and reform is actually implemented. The success of this reform process will largely depend on the Members of the Seanad working closely together to develop reforms and working with the Government towards implementing these reforms. I welcome the Leader's proposals for consensus on this issue and I look forward to having further engagement with the House as the process of reform develops.

Senator Cummins and others spoke about the duplication of work across the Seanad, Dáil and the Oireachtas committees. When I was appointed to the position of Chief Whip I was not in favour of the concept of a committee week, but as time has passed and I have seen how well the committee system is working. Under the previous Government there were 23 or 24 committees, chairmanship of which were essentially "jobs for the boys". We have reduced the number of committees and they are working very effectively now.