Ann Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to discuss Senator Wilson's Private Members' Bill. I acknowledge his work in bringing the Bill before the House and thank its seconder as well. The Bill proposes the alignment of the electoral roll for Seanad panel members' by-elections with the electoral roll for Seanad panel members' general elections. The proposal is certainly worthy of consideration and discussion. This debate gives us an opportunity to take a broad view on the Bill. However, the Bill would require careful examination on Committee Stage. The new section to be inserted in the Seanad Electoral (Panel Members) Act 1947 is incomplete and would require amendment if it was to be agreed but I will return to this point later on.

The Bill proposes to introduce Seanad electoral reform. As Members will know, wider Seanad reform has been the subject of much research and analysis over the years. I understand that Seanad electoral reform has been the subject of considerable debates in this House over the past two years, in particular. Most recently, on the Government side, this work has been progressed through the establishment of the working group on Seanad reform. The group reported to the Taoiseach in April. The report made wide-ranging recommendations about the way in which Members are elected to the Seanad and how it should perform its functions.

I know Senators had the opportunity to have a full and frank debate on the report in the Seanad in May and also in July. The Taoiseach met the Opposition party leaders to discuss the report during the summer and agreed that the next step is to debate it in Dáil Éireann. It is important we hear the views of all sides on this important matter and we look forward to the debate taking place.

Another element of Seanad reform where some progress has been made is in terms of the higher education aspect of Seanad elections. The Government has published, for consultation, the general scheme of a Bill on the election of members of Seanad Éireann by institutions of higher education in the State. The purpose of the Bill is to implement the 1979 constitutional amendment to extend the Seanad franchise to graduates of institutes of higher education in the State that up to now did not form part of the Seanad university constituencies.

While I am aware that it is two years since the Taoiseach announced this initiative, and some time since the general scheme was published, nonetheless action has been taken and a considerable amount of groundwork has been carried out. I remind this House that the implementation of this constitutional provision could have been done at any point since 1979 but it did not take place. This Government has taken the first steps to implement the will of the people.

On the matter of filling casual vacancies, which is the focus of the Bill before us, the general scheme of the Seanad electoral (university members) Bill provides that such vacancies would be filled in a similar way to European Parliament vacancies. They are filled by the use of replacement candidate lists and, therefore, no by-elections would take place in the university constituency to fill casual vacancies. These arrangements differ from the proposed by-election arrangements set out in the Bill before us. I wonder if the proposers of the Bill have considered this option for filling panel members' vacancies when they arise.

Having said that, this Second Stage debate is about the Bill before us. It is important we consider the Bill's contents and their implications. The Bill would result in a widening of the electorate for Seanad panel member by-elections to include local authority elected members. As I said earlier, the Bill proposes to insert a new section in the 1947 electoral Act. The new section requires further consideration. In the Government's view, an amendment is necessary to make the new section workable. For example, the Bill does not replicate those provisions in the 1947 Act which provide that only those on the electoral roll can vote. It does not provide that the death of a person on the electoral roll would not prejudice or affect the validity or operation of the roll. In addition, the Bill does not make provision for the names, addresses and descriptions of members of local authorities to be sent to the Seanad's returning officer by local authorities. This provision is contained in the 1947 Act for Seanad general elections. It may need to be replicated for the by-elections.

Consideration would also need to be given to replicating provisions in the 1947 Act for the Seanad general elections which allow the Seanad's returning officer to make inquiries to ascertain the correct name, address and description of every person on the electoral roll. The 1947 Act also provides for the publication of the electoral roll for Seanad general elections in Iris Oifigiúil. Again, this may need to be replicated for by-elections.

These are some of the issues we believe need further consideration on Committee Stage. The provisions of the Bill are certainly worthy of further consideration and discussion. Therefore, the Government will not oppose the Bill on Second Stage.