In view of the attitude which this Party took up upon this Bill on Second Reading, we intend to oppose the inclusion of this particular section. Section 1 of the Bill proposes to reduce the term of office of Senators from 12 to 9 years. When we opposed the Second Reading of the Bill, we were informed by the President and others on the Benches opposite that we were opposing the reduction of the term of office of Senators. Of course that was inaccurate, as most of the statements made from the Benches opposite are. When the Bill, therefore, comes before us on Committee Stage we have an opportunity of singling out this particular section and there can be no confusion caused by the fact that we are opposing it on this occasion. We are opposed to this section of the Bill not because it proposes to reduce the term of office of Senators, but because it does not reduce that term sufficiently. We believe, and have expressed our belief, that if we must have a Seanad the term of office should not exceed six years. The advisability of not increasing the term beyond that period becomes much stronger in view of the altered system of election. We believe that if any effective control is to be exercised over those appointed to the Seanad it can only be done by holding over them the possibility of their removal at the end of a period which will not be too long. A person elected for nine years, no matter what other provision you make, will feel himself independent of public opinion or the opinion of the Dáil for a considerable portion of that time. He knows that no matter what he may do during the first five or six years of that period it will very likely be forgotten when the question of re-election comes forward. We will have as a result of this section, if it is passed, an aggravation of the evils which we have at present to endure in respect of the Seanad. We have had a very considerable number of the members of that body showing absolute indifference to the duties which membership places upon them; and the cause of that was no doubt the fact that the period of twelve years was in the Constitution. Reducing that period to nine years, does not remove the cause of the evil; it should be reduced to, at least, five or six years.
We do not think that the term of office of Senators should exceed the maximum term of office of a member of the Dáil. We, therefore, intend to oppose this section. We hope that Deputies on the Benches opposite who profess to desire to see a vigorous, active and useful Seanad will realise that their desire is much more likely to be accomplished by the adoption of our suggestion than by that contained in the Bill.