Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I wish to build on something my friend and colleague Senator McDowell said about Seanad reform. I agree with much of what he said. I disagree about the proposition that the reform to the election of the Seanad should come from within the current constitutional structure. I have long been of the view that we should have a list system even if that means we no longer have graduate-elected Seanadóirí, councillor-elected Seanadóirí or Seanadóirí who come from a constituency of one by way of a Taoiseach's appointment. I think it would be go mór chun leas na tíre dá mbeadh vóta ag gach saoránach ar bhonn chóras liosta - if there was a list system on a nationwide basis whereby people could vote for the set of ideas or the philosophical approach to politics that most suits their preferences and that, within voting for such a list, people could then vote for the person they wish to see elected from it. It is a system that has worked very well on the Continent. It would contrast well with the Dáil with its more local representation. I think we all accept that there should be no confusion as to the distinctness of the Seanad and the Dáil both in the way they are elected and the way they perform their functions. If it is not considered too presumptuous or ungracious of me, I would challenge those Members of political parties in particular to recognise that the Seanad is at its best when it escapes from the tyranny of the Whip system. We saw that last year with the Government's ill-advised and badly conceived referendum proposals, which were defeated by massive majorities.Some of the most significant opposition to those referendum proposals came from a small number of people in this House. It was likewise with the so-called hate speech legislation, and credit to Lisa Chambers, who stepped outside of the party groupthink to recognise there were points being made here, particularly but not exclusively by Independent Senators, which simply were not ventilated in the Dáil. That is how we will build our own credibility as politicians and serve the people well. While it is understandable that within parties there has to be a certain coherence to get a budget through and so on, I hope that members of the Government parties in particular will recognise that, as Seanadóirí, they are different. While party leadership might expect a certain blind obedience, if I may put it that way, we will all do better as a country with the big problems we face if the Seanad proves itself capable of saying "No" at times when it needs to say "No". Famously, Kelvin MacKenzie, the editor of the Sunnewspaper, on an occasion when he and a number of his fellow journalists were wined and dined somewhere near Fleet Street by people who wanted to influence their journalism, as the journalists were returning to their offices in what one might describe as an advanced state of refreshment, said to his colleagues, "Now let's go and stun them with our ingratitude." I encourage those Senators who, while they might be grateful to the party hierarchies which contributed greatly to their presence here today, can serve their country very well by at least on occasions stunning people with their ingratitude. The people need fair, independent and fearless representation, and I have every confidence that people will rise to that challenge.

On a serious note, I think we are all aware, or at least any of us who have been around here in this world for a few decades at all, that the world seems to have problems now that seem to be more serious than the ones we faced just a few decades ago. There are many issues of complexity challenging us in our own country and abroad and we will struggle to come up with answers that are always coherent and always consistent. We will have to balance the national interest at times with major issues of concern and principle. I will say this, however, in response to even some of what has been said already. Unless we proceed from the point of view that every human being has dignity and every life matters, from its very beginnings to its natural end, we will not have the social solidarity we need to go forward and solve our problems together. Every life matters regardless of colour, disability, stage of development or capacity. We need to reflect on that if we are to keep our humanity in a time when many people in our world are losing theirs.