Terry Brennan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I compliment my esteemed colleague on the opposite side of the House on bringing forward this Bill. The Irish people voted to retain the Seanad and we all understood this was on condition that there would be a change in how the House works. As colleagues noted, we have already changed a lot of things. This is my first term in the Seanad but those who have been here longer acknowledge what has been done by the Leader and all of us. New legislation introduced here has been voted into law and amendments tabled here have been accepted by the Government.

Local public representatives have the franchise to elect 43 of the 60 Senators to this House. They understand their responsibility in this regard and take great care when selecting the various candidates on the different panels. I agree with the speaker who noted that councillors have their own minds and will make up their own minds. They are not influenced from on high and I commend them on that. What is proposed in this Bill would make a small but significant change in terms of extending the Seanad franchise. It does not make sense that the people who have the right to elect 43 Senators following a general election should not have the opportunity to participate in Seanad by-elections when they arise. In the most recent case, the by-election was to replace our unfortunate and much loved colleague, Jimmy Harte, who contributed greatly in his short time in the House.I will not go back to the previous by-election because I received many promises. Circumstances have changed greatly since the 1947 Act. I support the Bill and the extension of the franchise. I was on the local authority benches for 16 years. Councillors view their responsibility with great pride but this would lead to a wider variety of people being elected to the House. I commend my colleague and I support him.