Thomas Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

What is the Seanad for? Is it merely a debating Chamber? Do we merely rubber-stamp things? Is this a House of Parliament? If this was a serious House of Parliament then a debate on Aer Lingus would have been scheduled to take place before the Dáil vote so that all voices could be heard before the Dáil made its decision. I acknowledge that it is a decision for the Dáil. The idea that we can discuss Aer Lingus afterwards is plainly ludicrous. We do not need the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to be present. It would be useful to have him attend, but we do not need to have him here, particularly if he is busy in the Dáil. We are here to make our voices known and to put them on the record of the Seanad. Perhaps our views can be taken into account by our colleagues in the Dáil. Among our number is Senator Barrett, who I presume is attending the banking inquiry at the moment. He is the foremost transport economist in the country. The idea that the opportunity to hear his views and vision must be postponed until after the Dáil vote is plainly ludicrous. The Seanad is for voices such as his. Senator Barrett was one of the people, in the 1980s, who helped to ensure that the Dublin to London airline market was opened up to competition, a move that has resulted in huge benefits for the country. I would like to hear his voice, if he is not attending the banking inquiry, before the Dáil votes on this matter at 4.42 p.m. I understand that is the time the vote is scheduled to take place. We will make a holy show of Parliament if we allow the debate to happen after the Dáil votes. One is left wondering whether the people should have abolished the Seanad when Fine Gael asked them to. The Leader is running the place into the ground if he allows this to happen, and we will have become completely irrelevant. I appeal to the Leader to have the debate before the Dáil votes so that all voices can be heard.

I wish to briefly mention another matter. I tabled a Commencement matter the other day when the Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Ann Phelan, was in attendance. She gave me certain information, which I forwarded to local media and residents in a particular area, using her exact words. Deputy Helen McEntee then stepped in to say that the Minister of State was wrong and merely gave her own opinion. Can we rely on what Ministers or Ministers of State tell us in this Chamber? Do Fine Gael backbenchers know more than Ministers or Ministers of State? If a Minister of State comes in here and does not state the facts of a situation in response to a very specific question, then she should not be a Minister of State and should resign. We need procedures in place to deal with this matter. It is a matter for the Cathaoirleach as well.