Pádraig Ó Céidigh (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am sharing my time with Senator O'Donnell.

I dtosach báire ba mhaith liom tacaíocht a thabhairt don Seanadóir McDowell ó thaobh an Bille seo a thabhairt os comhair an Tí seo. I recognise and acknowledge the work that has been done in preparing this Bill. There has been a huge amount of work done over the past number of years in preparing it. I feel very passionately that we need to change and be fit for purpose. The Irish people voted by a small majority to support the Seanad and have said we need to have a Seanad, but I believe we need to reinvent ourselves. This is a very strong first step in that direction. There are a couple of really key points from my perspective. There should be an opening up of the franchise to graduates of all third level institutions. Just because I came from a particular university, it does not mean I should have any special privileges. There is nothing special about one third level qualification compared to any other. This levels the playing field and it becomes a lot more democratic. A lot more people can influence who sits in these Seanad seats. That is really important in a modern Ireland. It also starts a move in another direction towards supporting accountability and transparency and will show real value for money to the Irish people who supported them about a year and a half ago.

This is just a beginning; there are two parts to it. One is reform of the Seanad. Who are the eligible candidates? Who are the eligible voters? What is the voting process and how are vacancies filled? Who is in charge of all that? It is proposed that a Seanad electoral commission would be the glue in organising and structuring this. The second part of that is the process - how we do business and how we can be a lot more effective? We are moving in that direction. If we want to leave a legacy, there is one thing I see. I am just learning - everybody here is very committed and is putting a lot of work in. If we want to leave a legacy, let us make the Seanad really fit for purpose. It is critically important in Irish politics. It is really important for the Irish people, who have said that already. They are supporting us in that. Let us give them the changes they deserve.

I welcome the opportunity to have this debate and commend Senator McDowell on bringing the Bill to the House. I thank Senator O'Donnell for sharing time with me.