It is intended to take item No. 1.
Order of Business.
I believe this is the last day of the session. I hope the Leader of the House will share that little secret with us before we begin business this morning. Since I believe it is the last day of the current session, I would like to clear up two or three outstanding matters. First, is it intended to introduce new legislation early in the session in September, or will we merely complete the very heavy load of committee work which remains outstanding? I ask this because if it is intended to introduce new Bills, it would be helpful to Members of the House to have them in reasonable time to undertake the proper consultation.
Secondly, I would like to ask the Leader of the House about the overall question of Oireachtas committees. The situation at present is highly unsatisfactory. There are many Members of this House who are not on any Oireachtas committee at present and who see work of this sort as being a very important part of their overall parliamentary work. In particular, there is no committee on foreign affairs or on development aid and I ask the Leader of the House if he can press this matter with the Government to see that there will be early moves taken to establish these committees.
Thirdly, and finally, some time ago I raised the question of a debate in this House on the Constitution. I raise this point very seriously. It has the support of all sections of the Opposition and, I believe, of many Members on the Government side also. There is a strong feeling that after 50 years it would be worthwhile to take a hard look at our Constitution. I believe, and I am sure all other Members do, that the place to have this debate is in this House, in a calmer and a more reflective atmosphere and with a wider diversity of opinions. This debate should take place in the public interest, if possible, in September and by so doing we will enhance the growing relevance of this House, which has been noted in the public press in recent times. Because it is worth debating, because it is in the interests of the House and because it has the support of all Opposition groups, I ask the Leader of the House to consider very positively the possibility of a debate on the Constitution and its relevance at this point in our history, perhaps, over a series of half days in September.
I wish to elaborate on what Senator Manning said. He mentioned, and of course I agree, that it would be very worthwhile to have a debate on the Constitution. One of the reasons he gave for this was the diversity of opinions here and our colleague from the North, Senator Robb, contributes to that diverse range of opinions. He has been in touch with many of us about his almost enforced perpetual absence from the House because of the circumstances of his employment in Ballymoney. It has become a very serious issue and I ask the Leader of the House to use his good offices, through the Taoiseach's office, to try to see whether the Northern Ireland people can make some arrangement whereby Senator Robb will be enabled not only to work here but will be enabled to work in a reasonably healthy environment.
The position he is in is one which I am sure the Minister who is present would not tolerate in any hospital down here. Senator Robb is virtually continuously on call and carries out major surgery, on many occasions on five successive nights. I ask the Leader of the House to ensure that Senator Robb's contributions to this House, which everybody enjoys and finds very constructive, are not silenced forever because of the workload he now has imposed upon him. It is a rather extraordinary issue to have to raise here but unless we manage to support Senator Robb in his demands to have reasonable support in his hospital, we will not hear him again in this House. The only thing we can do is to ask the Leader of the House to ask the Government to try to bring some pressure to facilitate Senator Robb's attendance in this House.
I want to reinforce one or two things that have been said. I would like, first, to congratulate the Leader of the House on what I think has been a very good session. It has been a new departure for the Seanad to have legislation introduced here rather than introducing it in the Dáil first. Secondly, I would like to support very strongly what Senator Manning said about a debate on the Constitution. I do not want the opportunity of having such a debate to disappear. His original proposal was that we would discuss it on two days at the end of this session. I would be quite happy to discuss it today and tomorrow or next week but I do not think the House would be enthusiastic about that. I ask the Leader of the House to consider opening in September with a two day debate on the Constitution.
Thirdly, the issue of the committees which Senator Manning raised and the fact that some of them have not been set up is a very difficult one. We ought to consider the value of the committees and give them a certain amount of teeth rather than set up committees on various topics on an ad hoc basis. I do not think there is much point in setting up these committees, as I said before, unless they are given some powers.
Finally — I think the Cathaoirleach is being very indulgent about this — I want to endorse what Senator Ryan said about Senator Robb's absence. It is very difficult — I say this in the House marginally out of order — to raise this issue at all because of Senator Robb's particularly delicate situation in Northern Ireland. It has been very hard for him to get down here. I ask the Minister or the Leader of the House to ensure that some representations are made to the Northern Ireland Office about his absence from the House which is enforced and which is most unfortunate for us. I know we have no power or jurisdiction in this matter but perhaps some representations could be made which would enable him to attend more often because his contribution, while it has been disagreed with by many people, has been very valuable.
I wish to join in the tributes to the Leader of the House who has, in exceptional circumstances, been very helpful to all of us. He got down to the business of the House with a certain amount of gusto and we all admire him for that. I also pay tribute to his Whip who has been of assistance to Members of the House who needed to be paired at times during this extended sitting period. The only regret I have is that he was unable to get the Taoiseach to attend the House at my request to report on the matters which have been discussed at Community level. All the media coverage in the meantime confirmed my concern about this matter and about meetings of the Heads of State. That is my reservation about the Leader's inability to bring the Taoiseach to the House. He would have so reported to the other House and I feel we should be given the honour of hearing the Taoiseach replying to whatever concerns we have in that area.
I am concerned about the remarks which have been made about Senator Robb. This House is the poorer for his absence and certainly every effort should be made to assist him. All of us would welcome any initiative from the Leader of the House and the Taoiseach in this regard.
I support Senator Manning's idea that we should have an opportunity for a constitutional debate. I intended it to be a debate celebrating the Constitution and in which possibly we might look at areas that would usefully contribute to some future all-party committee which the Taoiseach promised will be set up.
The question of the formation of further committees has also been raised and in particular I support the idea that a foreign affairs committee is of paramount importance. The concept of a foreign affairs committee was triggered off in the Seanad by the Labour Party and I hope when that committee is set up the Labour Party will be allowed a representative. Apart from the Committee on Procedure and Privileges, we are not represented on any committee even though some of them are joint committees. I understand from our representative involved in the selection procedure that he was unaware of the meeting called to formulate the committees. I hope, therefore, that if a foreign affairs committee is set up we will be allowed to make a contribution. That committee is of special significance to us because we initiated the debate on it in this House.
I congratulate the Leader at the end of this term and I hope he continues in the same vein.
When everyone is congratulating the Leader of the House, complimenting him on the orderly way in which the Seanad has conducted its business and advocating that we have a more useful session starting in September, I ask for support for the Leader and, indeed, for a reasonable approach — as reasonable as it sounds today — from Senator Manning and other Senators because the Seanad has been put off the rails many times. Nothing has caused more disruption than Senators tabling urgent motions. One can only suspect that they are thought up on the way into the Seanad. I have had two motions down for some time but they are in limbo. That is not an orderly way to run the Seanad or to treat a Member of the House. I appeal to the Leader of the House and to those who offer support to him——
Qualified support.
That is understood at all times.
Not by Senator Ross.
I appeal to all Members to have order and if a Senator puts down a motion it should be taken in its rightful order and not pushed to one side by somebody who feels their motion is more urgent.
A number of points have been raised and many Senators have congratulated me on the orderly manner in which the Seanad has been working. Some Members present do not consider it has been that orderly; nevertheless, in the main it has been an orderly session. I do not know if I should take up Senator Ross's wish that the Seanad should meet this afternoon and tomorrow; it might be difficult as it may be a distance problem for him, bi-location not being of his many attributes.
It is intended that a number of new Bills will be introduced in September. Some of these Bills have been mentioned by various Ministers over the past number of weeks and I will endeavour to have them circulated as soon as possible to ensure that Senators get adequate time to look at them before we deal with them. A number of these Bills are with the Attorney General's Office and it is now only a matter of him clearing them.
It is important to get through the many reports which have been on the Order Paper for some time. Some of them are already a little out of date; nevertheless, there are other important ones which the Seanad should debate. Senator Fennell is not here but she is interested in the report relating to sexual violence and that will be taken as a matter of priority in the new session. Many Members also have an interest in the report on small businesses and that will also be dealt with. We will try to deal with these reports on Thursdays and deal with legislation on Wednesday, at least in the early part of the new session.
The committees which were formed have been working and there is talk of further committees. I will have a word with the Government about this to find out when and what new committees are being formed. There seems to be enormous interest in the setting up of a foreign affairs committee and I will convey that to the Government also.
Senator Ferris mentioned that their representative on the Committee of Selection was not notified of a meeting of that committee. That surprises me because I thought it would be a matter of course but, nevertheless, if that did happen I must apologise for it. I am not so sure if I should apologise for it because it is not within my control, but I assure Senator Ferris that, if it did happen, it was not done deliberately.
The Constitution was raised by Senators Ferris, Ryan, Ross and Manning. In the 50th year of the Constitution it is time to examine it but we should not rush into a debate. During the summer we should have consultations to find out what way the debate can be structured. As Senator McGowan said, some people might rush in with contributions which might not be of value. Before September we will meet the Opposition and deal with this matter. Senator Manning said that the debate on the Constitution has the full agreement of the Opposition parties but that would not be my main purpose in holding a debate on it.
The question raised by Senators Ryan and Ross in regard to Senator Robb is one in which the House does not have any rights but we should ascertain the facts. We will convey the sentiments expressed here to the Government to see if anything can be done. From what I have read in a Northern newspaper Senator Robb's workload is enormous and it may be that he is such a good surgeon that he is on call all the time and therefore unable to attend here. However, we will investigate the matter and ascertain the facts.
Order of Business agreed to.