Lisa Chambers (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I take the point on board. One of the amendments concerns the register of electors, so I was giving voice to this aspect. I can understand the Minister's point in the context of the amendment not being accepted but it was concerned with expanding the register of electors. The point I was making regarding the TCD panel is that when it was set up as it was, it made sense and there was a good rationale behind it. We have a small number of colleagues on those panels, and out of fairness and interest as well to those individual Senators, there is also a broader demand for reform.

I campaigned to retain the Seanad in the referendum held several years ago because I believe in the power and force for good that our second Chamber brings to bear. We can see this in much proposed legislation, where numerous amendments debated in this House come through in our final legislation. There is also more time in this Chamber to get into the detail and have in-depth discussions on legislation. Frequently, it is our Senators from the university panels who make some of the most considered contributions to discussions on Bills. It is important to point out that while there was a vote by the public to retain the Seanad, this came on the back of a mandate we have been given to reform the Seanad as well. This proposed legislation is just one element of that undertaking. I understand, though, that work is under way and that we will see some changes. This is only the beginning of it.

On the register of electors, what will be the position in terms of all institutes of education beyond secondary level? How will we go about differentiating in this regard? Where will we draw the line? How might this work? Perhaps this work is still ongoing and the Minister may not be in a position to answer this question today, but he might be able to come back at some point to address it.