Gabrielle McFadden (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It should also include making the Seanad more valid.

Much of the debate is about how Senators are elected. Senators are treated like second-class citizens in the House. I do not want to go back over the GAA ticket matter which was raised earlier by Senator Paddy Burke but it is an issue. For example, Tuesday was budget day and all Deputies were given tickets for the Gallery for visitors to hear the Budget Statement. Senators, however, were not afforded the same luxury. That is ridiculous in the Houses of the Oireachtas as all Members are equal. One House is as important as the other. The budget is for everyone, not just for Deputies. The allocation of visitor tickets was unfair and not right.

No Senator was on the Committee on the Future of Healthcare. We had to fight to get on it which, again, was not right.