Victor Boyhan (Independent)

I thank the Leader for putting two important motions down on the Order Paper. This is, of course, the Order of Business slot in Seanad Éireann. We will be dealing later with one of the motions, which relates to the Oireachtas joint committees and is self-explanatory. It is somewhat surprising, months after a general election and months after a Seanad election, that we have finally got our act together in order that we can actually start working for what we are being paid to do. It is to be hoped we will have the committees up and running from now. That is enough about that.

I am conscious there is an important and timely motion down on the appointment of the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission. As we will not be having a debate on the motion itself, I am going to use this opportunity and time to commend the Seanad Independent Group's nominee. We will be pursuing later the proposal that the nomination of Senator Michael McDowell to serve on the commission be considered. Nobody needs an introduction to Senator McDowell. He is an eminent lawyer, a former Attorney General, a former Minister for Justice and a former Tánaiste with vast experience. One thing I can say for this man, whom I have known for over 35 years, is that he is a man of integrity and consistency. In all his time in these Houses, he has championed and advocated strongly for the members of all parties and none. That is what we need. When I had a look at the membership of the commission, I saw that the document speaks about "responsibility, integrity, loyalty [and] commitment". One really interesting line is that members of the commission have a responsibility to "serve and act in a collective corporate capacity to support the work of parliament and its members as a whole" and "accordingly do not represent their own interests or those of their parties or groups or any other interest". Senator McDowell is a man who has the experience, the capacity, the will and the willingness to serve our Parliament. I hope he will have broad support when the motion is put before the House later on today.