David Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I note Senator Zappone has called for discussion of the Bill that she and Senator Quinn have sponsored, but I believe that discussion would be too narrow. We need a full discussion, not a discussion of a Bill prepared by legal authorities who have little understanding of how the Seanad works. We need to concentrate on the utter scandal of the situation that will arise tomorrow, when the result of a by-election with a total voting register was 225 is disclosed.

I have been raising this issue for weeks, but none of the media has taken it up. This register is the rotten borough if one wants one, but the Taoiseach, Deputy Kenny, has taken no interest in attacking the issue, although he is diluting the university seats by introducing an electorate of 850,000. Square that - an electorate of 225 as opposed to 850,000. We should be doing something about this.

The other matter I wish to raise is the appointment of Ms Fionnuala Sheehan to the board of RTE. The Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications had a secret meeting in July, from which the press and the public were excluded, where it put together a secret working committee to select a nomination. This committee is dominated and directed by Fine Gael. The Labour Party plays a role, but it has been pretty silent on this issue. Ms Sheehan was the chairperson and director of MEAS, the lobby for the drinks industry which is supposed to encourage responsible drinking. MEAS advertises on television with advertisements showing people having an orgy of booze and just a little note in the corner saying "Do drink sensibly" - total hypocritical rubbish.

MEAS is not so keen on secrecy in regard to itself. Even before the passage of this revived-----