Before the business of the Seanad is begun, there is a matter to which I desire to call attention. The matter I want to refer to is Article 30 of the Constitution, which sets forth the qualification of Senators. The Article reads:—
"Seanad Eireann shall be composed of citizens who shall be proposed on the grounds that they have done honour to the Nation by reason of useful public service, or that, because of special qualifications or attainments, they represent important aspects of the Nation's life."
However accurately the first part of that article may be worded, the second part of it is rather lax and leaves it open to an interpretation which may not be wholly desirable. In other words, the intention, as I take it, of the framers of the Constitution is far from being made manifest in the second part of the Article, which reads: "because of special qualifications or attainments they represent important aspects of the Nation's life." A man, say, suffering from St. Vitus's Dance, might be said to represent a separate and salient movement in the life of the country, or someone sufficiently notorious for doing things utterly apart from the public service might wish to make the Seanad the scene of his senectitude. In other words, the Seanad might become a refuge and an asylum for pensioners. That is why, however invidious the duty may be, I have felt it desirable to call attention to this matter. Reading the list of Senators who have been rejected, they are, if anything, a few points better than those who have been successful. I think it is necessary that a Bill should be brought in to deal with this matter, or that a Special Committee should be set up to decide the qualifications of candidates for election to the Seanad in the future.