Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

On behalf of the Civil Engagement group, we are very proud to support the proposal of this Bill and to support it through Second Stage. We have talked about this being timely. In fact, I think it has gone beyond being timely and is now urgent. We have the imperatives of the multiple reports over so many years, as outlined by Senator O'Donnell, but we also now operate under two further imperatives, including the highest level of imperative, that is, a referendum. In the referendum in 1979, the people gave us an imperative to reform the university panels and now, in the referendum on the abolition of the Seanad, people gave a strong, incontrovertible moral mandate for the reform of Seanad Éireann.

We have heard about people's lack of belief and lack of faith in politics and disaffection. We saw something quite different in the last referendum. What we saw in that was a commitment to hope. It was an act of faith. We had millions of people who did not themselves have the opportunity to vote in the Seanad and nonetheless voted for its retention because they saw its potential, because it was something they were interested in and they understood the value of national conversation and thematic conversation. They saw that the debates that happen in this space are important and they wanted to be part of them. This was a powerful message, sent by the whole of the population of Ireland. It cannot be ignored. It needs to be acted upon.

When we talk about this Seanad and this moment being seized, it has to be that this Seanad, the first Seanad saved from abolition by the Irish population, which shows it is listening to and respecting that population and it wants them to be part of our decision-making process and of shaping us. We talk about a national House. I campaigned actively for the retention of the Seanad because I wanted it to be a national House that reflected all of the nation. I wanted to see the thematic concerns reflected. I could see how important and interesting they were for people. I know people value all these debates and what we have today is a sign that we take it seriously.Sinn Féin, Fianna Fáil and other groups have spoken. There is a general recognition across all sides of the House this is the time when Seanad reform needs to come through. This is why we need to move forward on Second Stage. Technical considerations should be dealt with but we should not look for any excuse to delay this.

Moving to some practical aspects of the proposals facing us, this Bill is extraordinarily reasonable. It has balanced out many of the considerations raised over many years in respect of the Seanad. The issue of cost was strongly rejected by the people when they chose democracy as a crucial message over any question of costs. The chose greater democracy and not less democracy in the referendum.

In respect of the diaspora, I echo the concern and support voiced and I am very happy to see it right across the House in respect of the importance of a voice for those who have had to leave Ireland. The question of how we manage the numbers is dealt with very considerately by looking to the issue. This Bill would extend the vote to those born in Ireland who hold a current passport. This addresses some of the scaremongering we sometimes see around the idea of an electorate of millions that will appear. It will be an electorate of those who are passionate, committed and engaged with Ireland and who have strong roots in this country.

In respect of the vocational panels, the Civil Engagement group is united in a shared concern around strengthening the voice of civil society in these Houses. We see the vocational panels as being the way whereby those thematic concerns relating to issues of crucial importance of people and which may not be geographically bound but which have constituencies of concern across the country can be reflected so they can see their voices reflected. In this sense, the reform of the vocational panels proposed in the Bill is extraordinary and important. It will bring meaning and strength back to the idea of a cultural and educational panel when it allows us to address the differing views on education we have across our country. In respect of the labour panel, we can see differing questions of workers' rights that emerge. We look to the concerns of industry and small businesses across Ireland having a genuine force of representation and being able to organise and ensure they are represented.

I would not be as cynical as some have been in respect of those who have been elected to those panels. Having spoken to many of my fellow Senators, I recognise that many of the Senators here from all parties have a strong interest in these areas of civil society. However, this will widen the conversation they are having. While many Senators here who have been elected through vocational panels may be very passionate about the areas of agriculture and education, this will give them the opportunity to widen the conversation they have beyond the base of councillors to the other groups in society who care about these issues. It is a wider conversation. I believe many people who are passionate about these issues will persevere, prevail and come through with a stronger mandate by being able to have those conversations. I agree with Senator Coffey that each and every person has experience. I also agree that each and every person in this country has experience that could be brought to bear in voting for the vocational panels. Again, this is about recognising experience rather than denigrating it. It is about recognising the breadth of experience and interest in our society.

In respect of some of the concerns expressed by the Minister of State, I agree that there might be concerns about the balancing of constituencies on the vocational panels and the size of the panels. There may be scope for constructive amendment in these areas to ensure that we manage that. They may be the solution to each other because we might be able to address those concerns by making the size of the panel responsive to the size of the constituency. This is something we can do constructively.

In respect of the university panels, there was a vote in 1979 where people signalled that they wanted to expand this franchise. During my campaign, I visited the technical colleges and the University of Limerick and talked to many of those excluded from the franchise who are passionate about and want to contribute to this national conversation. We must not avoid moving forward on extending the franchise for the university panels. However, I would give some ameliorating thought to those who have expressed concern about this panel becoming huge. I believe when we have vocational panels that allow for thematic consideration, there may be many who choose not to exercise their vote in the university panels but instead to vote on a vocational panel. That will be the case as a much larger swathe of the population is coming through college and university structures. Again, I think the solutions are there in the rebalancing in this very well thought through Bill. It would address the anomaly of the dual vote. Nobody can justify an anomaly whereby people have two votes in this country.

I urge people to enthusiastically embrace this Bill as an opportunity. I believe it is an opportunity for all of us in the House and that we can go down as a landmark Seanad that has put a mark on history. Yes, we need to look to changes in our powers, procedures and operations but I am enthusiastic about engaging with those changes. I certainly came in here excited and hopeful and I know many other Senators did as well in our two thirds new Seanad. Those changes are important but they are not sufficient if we slam the door on the public which has opened the door of the Seanad and allowed us to walk into a Seanad it had the power to bolt and close forever. If we slam the door and say that we do not care about the public's participation and that we are doing some complicated technical things, it would be a shameful message to send. Let us treat the public with the respect with which it has treated us. Let us open the Seanad to it and solve all small problems constructively together on Committee Stage.