John Dolan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I was happy to be involved but I did not play a significant part in it because of other things that were going on at the time. I could see the mastery of himself, Mr. Whelan and others. On the last occasion I met Mr. Whelan, I had invited him in here - I mentioned this on the Order of Business the morning he passed away - to speak to the nominating bodies to the public administration panel. He was entertaining. He said he would cut it down and be very crisp. He used the analogy that, in 1989, if someone had suggested that we get rid of the other House of the Oireachtas, An tUachtaránacht, the President, it might have got legs or have taken off. He asked if anyone would dare even suggest it now. Why not? Has the Constitution been changed? Not a dot of it has.

The behaviour of the Members of that office has altered, in their vision and in their way of operating. There will be right and left, and this and that, but they have had a better or a different way of seeing their role - the two Marys and the present incumbent, President Michael D.Higgins. How I and each of us behave makes a difference. We could do a number of things in that regard.

I return to the issue of cost. If we flip the coin, what is the value? There are multiples of extra value to be got out of this House. We are just chugging along. We have not had a service in decades. That is where the question has to go.

Parties have a real problem with this House. It is like a cash cow. Every Senator who signs a party pledge is an asset, an income and a resource to that party. This is a fact. That is valuable and if I had that in my back pocket, I would not want to hand it over. Without embarrassment, the key parties in this regard need to sit down and find a way to unlock that.

There is another issue, which may be closer to the bone. Some 20 to 21 of the 43 vocational seats come through nominating bodies.