David Cullinane (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is obvious that the Government has a contempt for the Seanad. We have seen it several times attempt to trample all over the rights of the Seanad, one of the institutions of this State. We saw it with the botched referendum campaign. We saw it with the botched by-election campaign. This was one they could not lose but they did, and Senator Craughwell is sitting here today as a consequence of this monumental failure on their part. Now the Government is attempting to blackmail Independent Senators to vote for a Bill which is flawed and which the vast majority of citizens do not want to see passed. It is disgraceful behaviour for Ministers, who are again attempting to subvert the democratic process and the independence of the Seanad, to try to blackmail people by saying that if we do not vote for their flawed Bill, people will end up paying higher charges. It is nonsense. The Government could bring forward emergency legislation to prevent this from happening if it wanted to do so, and that is what it will do if the Seanad, as it should, defeats the Water Services Bill.

I appeal to those Independent Senators who campaigned for the retention of the Seanad and for a Seanad that could be a second check and balance when passing legislation. If the Dáil passes the Water Services Bill against the will of the people, the eyes of the people of this State and those who marched in their tens of thousands will turn to the Seanad. They will be hopeful the Seanad will do what the Dáil refused to do, because the Government has such a big majority. I hope that the Seanad can show its worth, defeat the Government on this Bill and stand up for ordinary citizens. What a day that would be for Seanad Éireann and the citizens of this State. I therefore appeal to people not to be taken in by any blackmail attempts of Ministers and to recognise that we are an independent Chamber in this Oireachtas. We can, as it were, stand on our own two feet. We can and should make our own decisions without interference from any Minister in the Dáil. I hope this will happen, if not this week then next Monday, if we have to sit next Monday as well. I hope the message that we send out to the Government is that we will not be blackmailed and that we will debate the Bill independently of whatever any Minister says or does.