David Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I compliment both the Leader of the House and the Minister on so speedily acceding to the wishes of Seanad Éireann in inviting the Minister to the House. This was very gracious, and I exonerate the Minister. It is fairly obvious that the orders came from the top. The Minister is new and I wish her well in her Ministry, but I believe she had to do it. The first part of her speech was carefully drafted euphoric waffle which has nothing to do with the issue. She ended by saying: "I see no reason why 2014 figures will not match if not exceed this number." Well, they are not coming to see Mr. McNulty. They are coming to see works of modern art. It does not surprise me, coming from Fine Gael. I remember how, many years ago in this Seanad, Deputy Shane Ross, who was then a Senator, persuaded me to sign a motion objecting to double-jobbing - people being in the Seanad and in the local councils. I signed it. Within three months, he was in Fine Gael and on the council and was raising the issue of local sewerage, so that is the way things go.

With regard to the argument that it has nothing to do with Mr. McNulty, of course it has everything to do with Mr. McNulty. It is to do with his qualifications. If one appoints somebody to a position, one wants to know what his or her qualifications are. It was not clear from what the Minister said - I am not sure if she will have an opportunity to reply - whether Mr. McNulty actually applied. I do not believe he did. From everything I have heard today, it sounds to me as though he did not apply, so it is extraordinary that he got a job for which he did not even apply. In respect of his business qualifications, I understand that he runs a petrol station, so I am not sure if they are going to take the Tesco route and open a petrol station in the Irish Museum of Modern Art. The last part of the Minister's speech referred to Ms O'Regan, who was not the subject of anything that was said here this morning.

Finally, I would like to say that nothing could put in clearer context the Taoiseach's attitude to Seanad Éireann than this utterly rigged and disgraceful election. He is talking about expanding the university constituency to 850,000. This is absolutely unheard of in a parliamentary election, yet he stands over and rigs an election with 250 voters or fewer. I am very glad that my colleague and friend Senator Bacik uttered what I suppose was the strongest protest against this that she was capable of in her current position. That shows that there are still a few standards left in the Labour Party.