asked the Minister for the Environment if the Government have any plans to reform Seanad Éireann.
Ceisteanna—Questions Oral Answers. - Reform of Seanad Éireann.
21.
The Government have no immediate proposals for the reform of Seanad Éireann.
I am disappointed with the limited extent of the Minister's reply. Surely he and the other members of the Government would agree that the objective in setting up the present Seanad, through the 1937 initiative of the then Taoiseach and later President de Valera, has now been undermined, particularly in regard to the vocational aspect? Why does the Minister not give some serious consideration to the Seanad Electoral Law Committee which reported in 1960? That committee suggested that instead of the present system, which has been undermined by political interests, the vocational interests which President de Valera wished to be represented in the Seanad should now be given an opportunity to elect their own representatives directly. Has the Minister any views or is he prepared to take any initiative on that matter?
As I have stated, under the Constitution, as the Deputy well knows, the Seanad is an integral part of the Oireachtas and its powers are set out in the Constitution. It is the wish of the Government that the input of the Seanad should be a vigorous one and it should be as effective as possible. I understand the matter was considered by the Seanad itself on 13 December 1989 and perhaps we will wait and see what transpires as a result of that.
Could the Minister repeat the last sentence?
I said that the matter was considered by the Seanad itself on 13 December this year and a resolution was adopted by Seanad Éireann without division.
Will the Minister take any initiative for the reform of the Seanad or indeed the Dáil? Initially I put down questions regarding both Houses but the question as regards the Dáil was disallowed because apparently there is a select committee from the Committee on Procedure and Privileges looking into the reform of the Dáil at present. Surely the reform of the Seanad is a matter for the Government. The Seanad itself is not capable of reforming the manner in which its Members are elected. If one wishes to get back to the vocational aspect——
I would dissuade Members from the notion that we can debate this matter today. There are a number of Deputies offering and the time for ordinary and priority questions is nearly exhausted. I will hear Deputy Shatter, Deputy Quinn and Deputy Garland if they will be very brief.
Is the Minister aware that three of the Taoiseach's nominees entered the Seanad with the desired objective of having it abolished? Have the Government any plans to have the Seanad abolished as proposed by the Progressive Democrats? Secondly, if the Government have no such plan, could the Minister indicate whether it is intended, in the context of university seats, to amend legislation so that the graduates of the University of Limerick and of the new university in Dublin will be in a position to act as electors to the next Seanad?
To be absolutely precise, what I stated was that the Government have no immediate proposals for the reform of Seanad Éireann. There is no point in misleading the House and saying that we are going to do something in the immediate future because——
Have you got non-immediate proposals?
——that is not the case. We have a lot of urgent business to attend to in other areas. As far as reform within the framework of the Constitution is concerned, such matters as the composition of the Seanad, the numbers to be elected from panels and university constituencies, the number to be nominated by the Taoiseach and also the powers of the Seanad in relation to legislation, are set out in the Constitution. Changes in any of these areas would require a constitutional amendment and we have no proposals in that regard at present.
You are not going to abolish it?
In respect of your request for brevity, could I ask the Minister for the Environment if the Leader of the Progressive Democrats or his colleague in Cabinet have, at any stage, formally submitted proposals in writing to him for the dissolution of the Seanad, which I believe is the policy of that party?
It is a pity the Deputy is not sitting at the Cabinet table. If he were, he would know all this.
Perhaps the Taoiseach might let the Minister answer the question.
Whether that has been discussed at the Cabinet is not a matter to be dealt with now.
Deputy Roger Garland.
Am I to take it that the answer is no?
Sorry, I have called Deputy Roger Garland.
Would the Minister agree that many Members of the Seanad have not got the confidence of the public behind them? Would he agree that it is a home of failed entities, people who have gone before the public for election and have been rejected, have gone before their own party colleagues and have been rejected again in the Seanad elections and are finally appointed by the Taoiseach? This is a disgraceful situation.
I cannot be expected to respond to provocative statements like that.