Michael McDowell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Who knows what their views on many issues will be? God only knows what they would be on the eighth amendment and so on. In any event, I am simply making the point. I think a number of people in the House have it in the back of their minds that Sinn Féin will somehow undertake a vast vote-rigging operation in places on this planet where no one can see what is happening. That is not going to happen. It does not happen in the universities or anywhere else. Therefore, I do not see that there is a real problem here.

The Taoiseach came before the House and said he was in favour of an implementation group. The Leader asked what happened to it. The Leader may be asking me what happened to it but I do not know. He is the Taoiseach's spokesman in this House. I would like to see that implementation group set up.

If it goes to Committee Stage let us be clear about one thing: it is going to go through that process. It is not going to go into some kind of backwater to be left there unconsidered while we think of some other reason nothing should be done.

I made this point the other day when the Taoiseach was here. It may well be that the establishment of all the registers and the enrolment of all the potential voters will take a period of time, inevitably. If we pass legislation in the life of this Seanad and Dáil, it may well be that we will have to provide, by amendment to the Bill, that the next election be conducted under the old system because there will not have been enough time to find out what Irish passport holders in Australia are all about. Those who fear for their lives here should consider the possibility that this will take time to implement. That does not mean that I am any the less enthusiastic about it, but it does not mean that those who have been elected under the present system are necessarily going to see a radically new system next time an election takes place, especially given the reasonably pessimistic views about the longevity of this Dáil and Seanad.

I thank the House for its indulgence. I call on the House to pass the Bill to Committee Stage, where all of the issues, including the issues raised by Senator Norris, the issues about the diaspora, postal voting and whether there should be more or less council-dominated seats in the Seanad can be considered. Those issues can be discussed at that Stage honestly and decently among people. We should no longer hide ourselves behind the complexity of the issue and use that as the reason for doing nothing. It is complex but that is all the more reason it should be addressed as quickly as possible.