Diarmuid Wilson (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Ann Phelan, to the House. There has been much debate about the future of this House over many decades but particularly over the past five years. For the first time since the passing of the Constitution of Ireland by the people, a referendum was held in 2013 asking the citizens of this country to abolish this institution. Thankfully, the people in their wisdom rejected that proposition and the Seanad will continue to perform its often under-appreciated, but always important, work as part of the functioning of the Houses of the Oireachtas.

However, any institution which faces an existential threat, as the Seanad did in that referendum, must question why such a proposal was even considered in the first place, other than the fact that the Taoiseach had a rush of blood to the head at a Fine Gael pre-Christmas dinner and thought it was a good idea. The Seanad is often the forgotten part of the three pillars that make up the Oireachtas. While the Presidency is a highly respected and a very visible office, particularly in recent decades, and the Dáil dominates the political landscape, the Seanad often has to take a back seat in publicity terms, despite its significant contribution to the legislative process.

One of the main issues raised during the Seanad referendum campaign was the disconnect between the Seanad and the people and yet it could be argued that the vast diversity of opinion which is found in Seanad Éireann is often more in tune with the general population than that of the Lower House. This House often debates legislation which, although it has been passed with very little debate and without a vote in the Dáil, results in considerable discussion and amendment in this House. One of the reasons the people rejected the attempted abolition of the Seanad was for that very reason. People recognise that the Seanad offers a more open and often more critical voice to proposed Government legislation than the Dáil. Ironically, given the Government's majority in the Dáil and due to the current arithmetic which makes up this House, it is the Members of the Seanad and not the Members of the Dáil who currently have the power to demand real debate on legislative matters. This is mainly due to the electoral process which elects Members to Seanad Éireann. These are the electoral rules which I would like to speak on today with this Bill.

As we are all aware, the electorate for the Seanad is limited to Deputies, Senators and councillors, along with university graduates and nominees from the incoming Taoiseach.In its Seanad reform document Fianna Fáil has already proposed significant reforms in relation to that electorate and the merits or otherwise of this electoral system can be debated on another day. What this legislation addresses is the Seanad electorate when there is a vacancy to fill one of the 43 seats on one of the vocational panels during its term of office. A by-election was held to elect a replacement for our colleague and friend, former Senator Jimmy Harte, to whom Members expressed their best wishes and to his family to assure him that his many friends would welcome him back at any time in the Seanad.

At this juncture I again congratulate our newest colleague, Senator Máiría Cahill, on her victory in the recent by-election and wish her the very best in the coming months in her new role. The electorate for the by-election comprised current Deputies and Senators who voted for the candidates put before them. Unlike the election in which former Senator Jimmy Harte was elected to his position, local authority members played no role in the by-election. I think and hope Senators agree that without the contribution of local authority members, this is an incomplete and somewhat diminished electoral process unlike that which normally surrounds an election to a vocational panel of this House. The Bill, if accepted and passed by the Oireachtas, will change the Seanad electorate for by-elections by allowing not just current Deputies and Senators to vote but also local authority members who have a vital role in linking their community's voice with that of the Seanad. It seems bizarre to me and many of my colleagues that when a Senator is first elected to a panel, the electorate includes Deputies, Senators and county councillors, yet in a by-election this is not the case. I suggest that in all probability this is not for some significant reason of principle or law but is mainly down to administrative convenience for the Oireachtas. Put simply, the Government of the day wants to control who is elected to the Seanad.

While the Constitution outlines the general principles, the membership and place of the Seanad in our constitutional structure, the Seanad electorate for by-elections is specifically dealt with in legislation, namely, the Seanad Electoral (Panel Members) Act 1947. The Bill before the House would amend that Act to broaden the electorate for Seanad by-elections. While its purpose is specifically to broaden the Seanad electorate for by-elections to include members of local authorities, it would also for the first time in generations show that the electoral system for the Seanad which came in for much criticism during the referendum campaign could be improved utilising legislation. The reform proposed in the Bill is very small reform, but it is significant because it shows that it is open to all of us to propose amendments to legislation governing how the Upper House operates. I know and acknowledge that the Bill is more symbolic than substantial in that regard, but it is a start, which in itself is important.

The Fianna Fáil Party has brought forward significant legislative proposals for Seanad reform, for example, specifically earmarking the seats of the Taoiseach's nominees for minority groups such as the new Irish and the disability sector. I suggest we consider the position of Cathaoirleach being filled by one of these nominees. We propose an opening up of voting rights for the university panels to graduates of all third level universities. The result of a referendum that took place more than three decades ago allowed this to happen but no Government ever progressed that decision. We would open up the 43 vocational Seanad seats to the entire electorate, not just councillors, to enable the people to have a stronger voice in the Seanad. We would broaden the electorate to encompass the diaspora and Irish citizens in Northern Ireland. We would also allow 500 citizens to nominate a candidate for the Seanad.

In order to understand the rationale for bringing forward the Bill, we must remember why local authority members are allocated the privilege of voting in Seanad elections in the first place. Local authority members represent local communities. They are the closest political link with local concerns. At the same time they also hold an important political office within their county and are fully engaged in the political structures of the State. As a result, they have been granted the ability to elect national politicians to vocational panels to provide an alternative voice to that of Members of Dáil Éireann. This structure represents a vital link between local and national, county and State, politicians and citizens. Obviously, there is always room for improving dialogue between the political institutions of the State and its citizens. This link could certainly be enhanced further than in the legislation I am putting forward, but, again, I must emphasise the symbolic rather than substantial nature of the Bill. In this regard, I am calling on all Senators - Government, Opposition and Independent - to send a message to the Executive that we want to reform our structures; that we want to reform the electoral system and that we want to have more inclusive elections. By supporting this legislation, this small step, to allow members of local authorities to vote in Seanad by-elections, Members would be stating clearly that they wanted legislative change. We are not demanding aggressive change but simply looking to rectify a legislative defect. Let us set down a marker that this is just today's work, that there is a lot more work to be done.

I look forward to the debate on the Bill. I urge the Minister of State to accept this small but very important Bill.