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Seanad Éireann debate -
Thursday, 29 Sep 2016

Vol. 247 No. 5

Statement by the Taoiseach

It is an honour to have the Taoiseach present in the House. Without further ado, cuirim fáilte roimhe. I ask him to address the Chamber.

Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach as ucht an cuireadh a thabhairt dom an tseachtain seo. Cuirim fáilte roimh na sean-Seanadóirí agus na Seanadóirí nua atá anseo.

As Members are aware, this Government is unlike any other established in Ireland since the foundation of the State. It required a completely new approach based on consultation and building consensus towards a new vision for the people. That vision is that we want a fair society based on a strong economy. We want thriving communities in urban and rural Ireland. We want an Ireland that looks after its people from the time they are born until the time they leave. We want an Ireland where everybody is given the opportunity to succeed and where nobody is left behind. We want people to have the peace of mind that comes from feeling safe and secure in their lives and homes.

A Programme for a Partnership Government sets out a detailed set of actions and commitments to be implemented by the Government during its lifetime. The new political landscape has presented an opportunity to reform radically Irish politics and fundamentally change the relationship between the Government and the Oireachtas and, with it, the relationship between the Irish people and their Parliament. We have embraced a new and collaborative approach, not only with the partners of the Government but also with the partners of the Opposition. This includes reform of how the Dáil conducts its business, the budgetary process and Oireachtas committee structures and developing a communications process between Departments and Deputies. I will return to this later.

The programme for Government sets out an ambitious programme of work. It has one simple objective at its core, namely, to make people's lives better in every part of the country. A fair society must lean on a strong economy. That strong economy will work primarily to create a fair and compassionate society of which people can feel part and proud, a society for everyone.

The country and the people have come through an unprecedented economic crash. Every family in Ireland has been touched in some way or other during this crisis. In the past five years members of the previous Government and I have worked to end that crisis, exit the international bailout and help with the creation of new jobs. Ireland’s continued economic success remains central to our work. While the sense of economic crisis may have passed, we still have a great deal of work ahead of us to ensure work and opportunity are present for all families across the country.

The Action Plan for Jobs has won recognition from the OECD as a coherent and effective way of confronting urgent priorities. Its features can equally be applied to other urgent priorities. It also facilitates a way of governing that involves a genuine partnership and maximises the chance of delivering upon objectives. One of the first priority actions of the Government has been to apply this process to tackle the housing crisis by publishing a new action plan on housing.

There are many challenges ahead, including in respect of housing and homelessness, education and health, and broadband and rural development. We are committed to tackling these challenges head on to build a society in which the recovery will be felt by every individual and family around the country. As part of the process, I have met individual Ministers to agree their priorities for the coming year, taking into account the actions and ambitions contained in the programme for Government.

The outcome of the UK referendum on membership of the European Union was not the result for which we had hoped. However, the Government has put a clear plan in place to deal with this and has a contingency framework that maps out the key issues that will be most important to Ireland in the coming months. These priority areas for the Government are Northern Ireland and the peace process, the common travel area, the economy and the European Union.

I am satisfied that, from all my engagements with international leaders, Ireland’s priorities are well understood, in particular the importance of protecting the peace process and the European Union’s contribution to peace in Ireland. The peace settlement in Northern Ireland is by now well established, but we are still far from a time when we can take it for granted. At the North-South Ministerial Council summit in Dublin Castle in July, the Irish Government and Northern Ireland Executive agreed to work together to ensure the peace process would be safeguarded, that Northern Ireland’s interests would be protected and that the importance of North-South co-operation would be fully recognised in new arrangements that emerged from negotiations.

The Government believes there is a need for the widest possible conversation on the implications of the referendum result for Ireland, North and South, and for North-South future relations. As I said in the Dáil during the week, I intend to convene an all-island dialogue on the implications of Brexit in the near future because I believe there are many issues of mutual interest and concern that need to be discussed.

I welcome Prime Minister May's assurance that Northern Ireland, with all the devolved administrations, will be centrally involved in developing the United Kingdom's position prior to entering into any negotiations with the European Union. Neither the Irish Government nor the British Government wishes to see a return to the borders of the past on the island of Ireland. We will do our utmost to avoid barriers to cross-Border traffic and economic activity. We are also conscious of the past symbolism of the Border and the wider negative psychological impact it had on the Border areas and, more generally, across both parts of the island. We value the common travel area. We will work to keep it in place to the greatest extent possible as part of future arrangements. There is absolutely no desire to limit the freedom of people on both sides of the Irish Sea to live, work and travel freely across these islands.

It remains to be seen precisely what impact Brexit might have on the UK economy but, because of our close economic ties, any negative impact on the UK economy could have adverse implications for us. Ireland's strong recovery has ensured the economy is open, attractive and competitive. I am confident that it is resilient and that appropriate fiscal policies are now in place to help us adjust to the economic effects and impacts of Brexit.

We do not expect the budget for 2017 to be significantly affected, but it will take account of likely impacts to the extent that we know of in the early stages. We are continuing to promote the attractiveness of Ireland as a location of choice for mobile international investment and talented people. We will, of course, seek to take any opportunity that arises for Ireland from Britain's decision to leave the European Union. The economic interests of our countries are most certainly best served by having the United Kingdom in a close trading relationship with the European Union.

We remain fully committed to our membership of the European Union and the eurozone. Engagement with EU partners and the EU institutions remains a high priority. The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and I remain actively engaged with our European counterparts, as are other Ministers. Diplomatic contacts are being intensified in European capitals. At an informal meeting of the 27 Heads of State on 16 September in Bratislava, I outlined Ireland's contribution to the vision for the future of the European Union. We will continue to contribute to discussions on the renewal of the Union and will be an integral part of a re-energised European Union subsequent to the conclusion of the discussions and negotiations on Brexit.

We will bring forward our proposals for the budget for 2017 on 11 October. While we, as a country, have many reasons to be positive about the future, we have to remember the lessons that have been learned in the past decade. The gains we have made have been hard-won and the Government is not going to put them at risk. Budget 2017, therefore, will be prudent, reflect our need to underpin Ireland's economic recovery and ready us for the future. This is particularly necessary, given that the international environment remains uncertain, not least in the context of the United Kingdom's decision to leave the European Union and the continuing low levels of economic growth in Europe. The Government will, therefore, continue to take a responsible approach to the management of the public finances. The choices we make have to be forward-looking and sustainable and must be focused on those areas where need is greatest. We have made it clear that where we have headroom – the Minister for Finance has made clear that it is constrained and somewhat limited - two thirds will be directed towards public spending and one third towards tax measures. The budget for 2017 will prioritise new measures to help make people's lives better and deliver better services for them, in particular, for hard-pressed working families. The Government will also maintain its strong focus on the issues we have identified as being of greatest urgency, not least ensuring a functioning housing market and investment in the infrastructure Ireland needs for the future. We will also continue to work to ensure the economy is Brexit-ready and that Ireland continues to be an open and attractive place in which to do business. These are the pillars on which we build.

Another key priority for the Government is responding to the housing and homelessness challenge, the subject of so much discussion and coverage in recent years. It is universally acknowledged that, as a country, we are not producing enough new homes to meet our needs. Reflecting the urgency and priority attached to the issue, I appointed a senior Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government, Deputy Simon Coveney. As I said, we committed in A Programme for a Partnership Government to the publication of a new action plan within 100 days and it has already been published. We published it in July within that timeframe. The detailed and comprehensive work carried out by the Oireachtas Committee on Housing and Homelessness within a tight timeframe fed into the development of that plan. There are five key pillars in the plan: addressing homelessness; accelerating social housing delivery; building more homes for the wider housing market; improving the rental sector; and making the best use of the housing we have.

Over 80 specific time-bound commitments are contained in the housing action plan. They include commitments to double the annual level of residential construction to 25,000 units; to roll out a €200 million local infrastructure housing activation fund; and to develop a comprehensive strategy for the house rental sector. The Government has set a target of 47,000 new social homes by 2021 supported by an investment of €5.35 billion. We are trebling the rapid build programme to 1,500 homes and have provided €70 million for the Housing Agency to buy vacant properties throughout the country. Implementation of the plan is progressing, overseen by the Cabinet committee on housing. We will publish quarterly progress reports in each of these separate areas.

Members will be aware that the establishment of a citizens' assembly was a commitment in the programme for Government. A resolution approving the establishment of the assembly was passed by both Houses of the Oireachtas in July. The following topics will be for consideration by the assembly and the assembly will make a report to the Houses of the Oireachtas on each item: first, the eighth amendment to the Constitution; second, how we best respond to the challenges and opportunities of an ageing population; third, fixed-term parliaments; fourth, the manner in which referendums are held; and fifth, how the State can become a leader in tackling climate change. The assembly will also be asked to consider such other matters as may be referred to it. The resolution sets a time limit of one year from the date of the first assembly meeting for completion of the assembly's work, but it does not set a time limit for individual items. However, it specifies that the eighth amendment to the Constitution will be the first item on which the assembly will report. The report on the eighth amendment, when completed, will be sent to the Houses of the Oireachtas. On receipt, the Houses will refer the report for consideration to a committee of both Houses which, in turn, will bring its conclusions to the Houses for debate.

On 27 July the Government approved the appointment of Ms Justice Mary Laffoy as chairperson of the Citizens' Assembly. Membership will consist of 100 persons: 99 citizens entitled to vote in a referendum, randomly selected so as to be broadly representative of Irish society by a polling company commissioned for that purpose, plus the chairperson. The recruitment process is nearing completion. As I indicated, the inaugural meeting of the Citizens' Assembly will take place on 15 October. The timing and nature of public consultation and the method by which interested parties will be selected to make presentations to the assembly will be a matter for the chairperson and assembly members. It will, of course, be open to interest groups and members of the public to make written submissions for consideration by the assembly. Plenary sessions of the Citizens' Assembly will be streamed live via the website. The focus of the broadcast will be on those making presentations.

As I said, the new political landscape presents an opportunity to reform Irish politics and change the relationship between the Government and the Oireachtas. On 10 March 2016, the first sitting day of the Thirty-second Dáil, the House passed an all-party motion to task the sub-committee with identifying a package of reforms to strengthen Parliament for the people, something Members on all sides agreed was necessary.

As an initial step, the sub-committee consulted Dáil Members and sought submissions for consideration. It received 28 submissions. The sub-committee has since met 18 times to consider a number of matters raised in the submissions. On 19 May the House adopted a package of reforms proposed by the sub-committee and in the following weeks amended existing and adopted new Standing Orders to give effect to the reforms agreed to.

The following are the main reforms proposed. It was proposed to give more power to Parliament to plan and make arrangements for its own business, with the establishment of a new Business Committee, comprising Government and Opposition Deputies who together plan the business of the House on a weekly, sessional and yearly basis. The legislative priorities of the House are now agreed to by all parties. The Business Committee has been operating successfully since June, with all decisions reached by consensus. The Members of Seanad Éireann have also implemented a system whereby the Leader convenes a meeting with all of the other Seanad group leaders every Wednesday to discuss the following week's business.

Another proposal concerned better scrutiny of the annual budgetary cycle by the new Oireachtas Committee on Budgetary Oversight, supported in its work by a new independent budget office which is being established and will crunch the numbers for the new committee. It was proposed to have an increased role for the Office of the Parliamentary Legal Adviser to allow the office to assist backbench Members in drafting legislation and give advice on all legislation being brought before the House.

It was proposed to change the rules for groups to allow more than one technical group to be formed. This enables Independents and Members in small parties to join forces to get a greater share of parliamentary set pieces, for example, Private Members’ time. A rearrangement of the sitting day was proposed in order that sittings of the House, wherever possible, would not clash with committee meetings. People are aware of Members having to leave committee meetings to vote in divisions. This enables Members to give more time to both plenary sittings and committees and not to have to choose between attending one or the other.

Pre-legislative scrutiny will be extended to non-Government Bills which pass Second Stage in the Dáil, which will increase their possibility of being enacted. A new Irish language committee was established. Members now have the facility formally to record their abstention from a vote, which was not previously available, and to put on the record of the House an explanation for their abstention or the way they voted. Improvements were proposed to both the parliamentary questions process and the way in which the Government answered questions on its promised legislation on the Order of Business. A voting time on Thursday afternoons was introduced, which represents a more efficient use of the House’s time.

This new way of doing business will be a catalyst for improved communication between Ministers and their Departments and Opposition spokespersons and their teams. A more cohesive Oireachtas will lead to better consensus on legislation. To help facilitate this approach, a parliamentary liaison unit has been established in my Department. The role of the unit is to facilitate the enhanced relationship between the Government and the Oireachtas. The unit is working alongside the Chief Whip's office to support Ministers and their Departments in the management and implementation of the legislative programme.

Seanad reform is of great interest to the Members here and great concern to everybody. In order to progress the reform process, I established an independent working group on Seanad reform in December 2014. The principal focus of the working group was on possible reforms of the Seanad electoral system within the existing constitutional parameters. The working group also explored ways of reforming Seanad Éireann generally and the manner in which it carried out its business. The group examined these issues also within existing constitutional parameters.

The working group examined submissions and proposals for reform, which have already been made and looked at. They were as follows: the role of a reformed Seanad within the political process; the powers and functions of a reformed Seanad; and any such matter the working group saw as relevant. The working group sought submissions and suggestions from interested parties and took into consideration the 11 official reports since 1937 and the many submissions made during the Seanad referendum process in 2013. The group, chaired by Dr. Maurice Manning, met on seven occasions and published its report on 13 April 2015.

The working group identified the main problems with the existing situation as: an electoral system which was elitist and disfranchised a majority of citizens; a constitutional concept of vocational representation which had little substance in practice; and the absence of clear defining guidelines on the distinctive role of the Seanad in public life. The proposals of the working party meet these issues head on. The report, if implemented, will develop and strengthen the vocational nature of the Seanad. It will make possible the participation of all Irish citizens in Seanad general elections. It will establish a franchise for Irish emigrants who are Irish citizens and allow electoral participation of those normally resident in Northern Ireland. It will also maintain the link between national and local politics through an electoral college of elected representatives and will modernise the registration and electoral process in a way that is secure and using the most appropriate and up-to-date, modern technology.

The key recommendations made in the report are as follows. It recommends the establishment of an interim implementation body to oversee the implementation of the changes. It recommends that the majority of seats be elected by popular vote in a “one person one vote” system. This principle is recommended to be extended to include Irish citizens in Northern Ireland and those living overseas who hold a valid Irish passport. The report recommends provision for online registration of voters and the downloading of ballot papers. It also recommends a greater role for the Seanad in the scrutiny, amendment and initiation of legislation and that there be a review of the panel system. The working group also produced a draft Bill to implement the relevant recommendations contained in its report.

I welcomed the report when it was published and said there needed to be a public and political discussion and consultation on it. On 5 May and 8 July 2015 statements on the report were made in Seanad Éireann, with both the chairperson of the working group and former Senator Joe O'Toole, a member of the group, in attendance. I also met Opposition party leaders to discuss the report's contents in July 2015. Arising from this meeting, I gave a commitment to have a debate in Dáil Éireann on the working group's report at an appropriate time. Although this did not prove possible in the last Dáil, it is my intention that the debate should take place as soon as possible. The Dáil debate should be the first step in the reform process.

The working group recommended that the interim implementation body be established. A Programme for a Partnership Government makes a commitment to move forward with the reforms proposed by the working group. The implementation group should be established in the Oireachtas and its membership should consist of Members of both Houses of the Oireachtas, from all parties and groups, with access to independent experts. Yesterday I wrote to the leaders of the parties suggesting we move ahead with the establishment of the implementation group and, assuming they agree, intend to make the necessary arrangements as soon as possible in order that the reform agenda can be advanced.

The Seanad Bill 2016, sponsored by Senators Michael McDowell, Frances Black, Victor Boyhan, Gerard P. Craughwell, John Dolan, Joan Freeman, Alice-Mary Higgins, Colette Kelleher, Rónán Mullen, Grace O'Sullivan, Pádraig Ó Céidigh and Lynn Ruane, aims to implement reforms proposed in the report of the working group. The Bill commenced Second Stage in the Seanad on 13 July last and my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Damien English, spoke on that occasion to give a broad outline of the Government's position on the various provisions contained therein. Making the proposals put forward by the working group happen has my full support and I have advised the new Leader of the Seanad, Senator Jerry Buttimer, that it should be a priority of his and the Seanad.

I thank the Leader for inviting me to address the Seanad. Senators have heard me outline the Government's priorities for the new session and the challenges we face as a country. I have also contacted the Opposition party leaders to seek cross-party agreement on an implementation group in order to advance the Seanad reform process.

The Dáil and the Seanad need to continue to work closely with each other and complement each other’s work in order to maintain Ireland’s recovery and successfully overcome any challenge we may face.

I wish Senators well in their endeavours and look forward to working with all of them in the future.

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