Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

There is not a little irony in Senator O'Sullivan declaring that the university seats are a rotten borough. Let us just remind ourselves that this is an undemocratic Chamber. Let us remind ourselves that most people watching today - who knows, there could be dozens watching at home today - have no vote whatsoever in terms of how people are elected to this Chamber. That is the rotten borough. That is the rotten borough that successive Governments led by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have failed to tackle. I agree that there should be no excuse for not extending the franchise in terms of university votes, but at least people who are graduates can vote, as opposed to the regular population, who have no vote whatsoever. That is the elephant in the room, and it has been in the room for decades. If we are going to talk about Seanad reform, let us be serious about it.

What I would say to the Minister of State is that unless he is prepared to grasp this nettle, his name will go alongside all those of the other people who talk about Seanad reform and deliver nothing. We need this place to be democratised, not just for the universities but also for the whole population. That is the key issue.