Marie Louise O'Donnell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Taoiseach. First, I congratulate him on his office. As a citizen of this country and as an Independent Senator, I feel that Deputy Varadkar fits it very well. I am proud that he is there. I say this because of what I have seen and what I have heard, especially in relation to the area of Brexit, which is a powerful force approaching our country. The Taoiseach has grasped what Brexit is and how it is, and he has informed us and kept it alive in a real way as to how he himself will approach it and hold it so that we are able to carry on and hold our own independence and our own North in the future. The area of the Citizens' Assembly is a profound issue and the Taoiseach has managed it, with other Ministers, extremely well. Like other Senators, I am proud of the way the Taoiseach has approached it to date. So there are a few compliments, but there is nothing wrong with compliments if they are true and if they come from a well-founded place.

I was glad to hear the Taoiseach speak about the Seanad because sometimes the problems are in our own kitchen. I have spoken about this here previously. I like the Taoiseach's commitment to the Seanad changes. I say that as a privileged Senator who has been a Taoiseach's nominee twice.

We are not intellectually independent enough in here. We are too territorial in the way we operate. I am not part of a group in here and it is only with the generosity and the gift of the Cathaoirleach that I can get to speak. A Senator must be part of a group. There is a precedence of the group over creativity and imagination and that must change.

Also, if one looks at the referendum in relation to retaining the Seanad, it did not pass with any great gusto at all. In fact, under certain university recommendations, it would have been a semi-fail. That was because people needed it or expected some kind of reform. Reform, no matter how difficult, is essential.

How we get in here and what we do when we come here is extremely important. I believe in, trust in and value every Senator in here, but we are not semi-detached Dáil Deputies, mini-Dáil Deputies or waiting room Dáil Deputies. The Seanad has to be independent of mind and territory. If the Seanad is independent of mind and territory, it could flourish and be what we want it to be, namely, an intellectual, emotional and creative opposition to the Lower House. I would like to see that. If there are interviews going, I might knock on the door.