Lorraine Clifford Lee (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Seanad reform Bill and thank Senator Michael McDowell and the other Senators involved for bringing it before the House. I have listened to many of the valuable contributions made. As my Fianna Fáil colleagues have already outlined, my party is committed to reforming the Seanad. We were the only parliamentary party to oppose the abolition of the Seanad in 2013. This Bill contains many of the proposals contained in a Bill that Fianna Fáil brought before the House in 2014 so we welcome it. We believe passionately in the importance of the Upper House but recognise the expansive reform that is needed. This reform is in line with the recommendations contained in the Manning report. These proposals are needed to bring it up to date and have it more representative of the country as a whole.

The 2016 Fianna Fáil general election manifesto contained a commitment to reform the Seanad and in line with that we are very happy to support this Bill. Our party leader, Deputy Micheál Martin, has already taken the reforming initiative in nominating three Independent Senators to the House in recent months.

The Seanad came into existence in 1922 as the founders of the Irish Free State believed that a second House with the power to scrutinise and delay legislation was necessary. This function is as necessary today as it ever was. I welcome in particular the proposal to expand the six university seats to graduates of other universities and third level institutions. I am an NUI graduate and I currently have a vote for the NUI panel. However, many of my family, friends, colleagues and neighbours attended other education institutions, such as Waterford Institute of Technology and Dublin City University, and do not have a vote.This proliferation of third level institutes reflects a changing Irish society and development in the education sector. These graduates should have the right to elect six university Senators. If the right were extended to them, we would have a more accurate representation of graduates in the Seanad. This change would be in keeping with the spirit of the reasoning behind the original university seats.

At this point I reference Senator Norris's contribution, although it is a pity he is not still in the House. He took issue with the change and stated it is extending the right to vote to house painters and tradespeople. He argued they were not university attendees and that is correct; nevertheless, tradespeople have a wealth of experience and engage in extensive training, education and examination. That should be embraced. On the same point, Senator Norris took issue with the fact that people with honorary degrees were not considered degree holders in this Bill. I maintain that honorary degree holders might have less education, experience and training, having taken fewer examinations, than tradespeople. I do not see his reasoning behind that. We in Fianna Fáil certainly do not support that view.

My colleague, Senator Mark Daly, made a passionate contribution on extending the right to vote to Irish citizens living in the North and overseas. I commend him in this regard. Our diaspora has made a very valuable contribution to this country and it is about time those people are valued and given a vote. Our diaspora kept the country going in the lean years of the 1940s and 1950s by sending money home to support families. The newer members of our diaspora left our shores in recent years - equally lean - and some might wish to return in the near future. They have expressed such a desire to their families. It is time we gave them a voice and allowed them to shape the country to which they will return.

My party colleagues have mentioned that we may bring some amendments to the Bill on Committee Stage and I will briefly touch on one of them. We do not feel the number of Senators elected by local authority members and Members of both the Upper and Lower Houses of the Oireachtas should be reduced to 13. These electors - I am referring mainly to sitting county councillors - are embedded in every community in Ireland and they have their finger on the pulse. They are often the only point of contact for communities and the political infrastructure and it serves democracy well having them directly elect Members of this House. Local authority members have over the years seen their power eroded, their workload increase and their remuneration decrease. I cannot stand over reducing their capacity to elect members of this House to 13 Members. Fianna Fáil will be tabling an amendment in this regard.

I also make reference to Senator Marie-Louise O’Donnell's comments that this Bill only reforms how the Seanad is elected. She made a very good point but if we start at this point, perhaps a different hue to the Seanad would see how we do business in the House reformed. I thank the Senator for her contribution. Fianna Fáil wholeheartedly supports this Bill.