John Dolan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

These are called outside panels. The majority of those seats are won by people who have signed and committed to a party pledge. How does one discharge one's responsibility to that and to the vocational panel one has become a member of due to one's knowledge and experience?That is an issue. The knowledge and experience of those who represent the vocational sphere is important. If the House was divided down the middle and there were people with previous experience in the Oireachtas and Taoiseach's nominees on one side and individuals with knowledge of and experience of those five areas on the other - never mind reforming them for a moment - it would be possible to have fantastic debates about what needs to be done. This is because there are people in the House who have knowledge of and connections relating to civil society, labour, industry, agriculture, etc. We could fix many issues and provide involve large numbers on committees. The value added would be fascinating.

We put a great deal of stock in democratic elections - a matter about which Senator Mullen spoke so well - and electing those who are absolutely attuned to the real issues people face. Seanad elections are, under the Constitution, absolutely and umbilically connected to Dáil elections. If one asks people if they know how individuals are elected to the Seanad, one will find they do not have a clue. A person is the loneliest man or woman in the country when trying to get elected to this House. People just do not know what we do to get here. I ask people to reflect on the fact that the election relating to this House is similar to what one might expect to happen when seeking admission to a secret society.

There is much more to be said. I have enjoyed and learned from the contributions I have heard. We can be reformative in the way we behave in the House. I have made some suggestions in that regard and on how the next Taoiseach would deal with the question of his or her nominees. A number of practical things can be done.