David Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I could deal with the alleged reforms, but they are too cosmetic to be worth bothering with. Beidh lá eile againn to get at that heap of crap. Certain things have been have established, however, such as that the Government and the Oireachtas should be accountable to the Irish people rather than to international financial institutions and that it is the duty of the Government to protect the interests and welfare of the Irish people rather than preserve the system. We need integrity in government - I am referring also to this Government. National resources should be invested where they are most needed rather than used to serve the interests of constituents of Ministers or members of a particular political party. That has been happening in the other House and we all know about it. Do not speak to me about reform and integrity. The overuse of the Whip is grotesque. I have been in the Oireachtas for nearly 30 years and I have never seen the Whip used as regularly in the other House. The majority of Bills have been guillotined through Dáil.

There has been an attempt to stop Sinn Féin because people are afraid of that party. However, Sinn Féin members are on the ground doing work. I do not agree with a lot of what they do, but those who want to compete with Sinn Féin should get up off their arses and do the work. Sinn Féin should of course be represented on the Committee on Procedure and Privileges. It has three elected Members in this House while a group with no elected Members is represented on the committee. That is ridiculous.

People who are elected on the university franchise should be disbarred from taking the party whip. Every Government has had the university seats in its targets. They will be taken over by the political parties. I estimated modestly that we would have approximately 500,000 voters, but the Government has estimated the figure at 800,000. How many people will be on the lists? I recall one occasion on which there were 18 candidates on the Trinity College list. Will there be 200 or 250 candidates? I guarantee the Government will make a 24 carat bags of it. I do not believe it will be able to get the register right. I note the Chief Whip has taken his pen out. Perhaps he will take note of my suggestion that we should be able to access the e-mail addresses of these people, because otherwise it will be impossible to contact them. After campaigning on this issue for many years, I am delighted to report that I recently received a letter from the Provost of Trinity College informing me that efforts would be made to obtain the e-mail addresses of electors. If the Government wants to be democratic, it will need to give up some power. The Taoiseach should not be allowed to nominate Members. It is a ridiculous abuse of democracy. Six Members will be elected by 800,000 people, a further 43 Members will be elected by 1,000 people and the remaining 11 Members will be elected by one lucky possessor of a golden ticket. Is that the Chief Whip's idea of democracy? It sure as hell is not mine.

More than 20 years ago I suggested that the nominating bodies should be expanded to include all of the people of Ireland, with three seats set aside for anybody who does not fit into the bodies. The system of Taoiseach's nominees should be abandoned and the seats distributed among the diaspora and Northern Ireland, as well as an additional three seats for the universities, so that they are manageable, and three seats for people who do not fit in elsewhere.