I move:
That the Report of the Committee on Procedure and Privileges (T. 288) dated the 2nd April, 1992 be adopted.
The purpose of this motion is to adopt the report of the Committee on Procedure and Privileges on changes in procedure and practices in the Seanad. This report, which has been circulated to Senators, is not a complicated one and is, to a large extent, self-explanatory.
The report centres on the reorganisation of business within the Seanad itself and recommends changes in the existing practices and procedures of the House. The recommendations can be implemented by adapting the way business is ordered and by amending the existing Standing Orders Relative to Public Business. The aim of the report is to ensure that the business of the House is ordered more effectively and efficiently and to make the House more responsive to the needs of Members. The proposals relate solely to the reorganisation of business within the House and are an endeavour to enhance its effectiveness within the existing parameters.
When the Members of the Committee on Procedure and Privileges examined the statements made by Senators on the role of the Seanad, we found that there was a strong consensus of opinion on all sides of the House and that we needed to provide Members with a legitimate means of raising matters other than on the Order of Business. We all agreed that the primary role of the Seanad lies in the initiation and revision of legislation, but we must also accept that it should provide a forum for debate on important and topical matters. It was felt that topical issues were being discussed in every forum except on the Floor of this House.
One Senator summed up the frustration and resentment of most Members when he said: "It is very frustrating to come in here on occasions and find that while a debate is taking place on radio, on television and in newspapers on the street, yet because of the rules of the House, it is very seldom possible to get a debate going on an important topic on the day on which the topic arises." I hope we will get an opportunity to deal with that issue.
As the House is aware, as Chief Whip and Leader, I have endeavoured when ordering the business to facilitate Members by making arrangements to have statements made as quickly as possible on matters of urgent and public importance. However, in the absence of established procedures and proper machinery to deal with matters of concern to Members, it has become the practice for Members to use the Order of Business to raise all matters of local and national interest. This happened yet again today.
Any matter can be raised on the Order of Business by simply asking the Leader of the House if he would make time available for a debate on it or if he would convey the views of the Senator to the Minister concerned. This has led to an inordinate and disproportionate amount of time being spent daily on the Order of Business and to the same matters being raised by Members day after day and by Member after Member. This is what happens most days.
I genuinely believe, in relation to the reforms we are attempting to implement today, that unless there is goodwill on all sides in implementing them, they will be of no avail. While there is a time limit, we all hope that the reforms will be implemented in the best interests of the House to ensure it is run efficiently.
In this respect the committee are recommending that changes be made in procedures to facilitate Members raising topical matters and to provide better and increased opportunities to debate matters in a legitimate and structured manner.
The Committee on Procedure and Privileges considered a synopsis of all the recommendations put forward by Senators in the debate on the role of the Seanad. I wish to take this opportunity to thank the many Senators, — some of who have long experience in the House — who made responsibile contributions and expressed their views over many months on how the House could run more efficiently. The committee selected the key areas where we could introduce changes immediately and literally put our own House in order before any other major changes could be made.
Some of the changes proposed, such as a fixed time for the Adjournment of the House or the introduction of statements as part of Thursday's business, can be implemented with the agreement of the House on the Order of Business each day. Fixing a time for the Adjournment will not amount to a major change but it will facilitate both the Senator whose matter has been selected for discussion and the Minister concerned and eliminate the uncertainty which prevails at present, especially on a Thursday when a Senator can spend the afternoon waiting in the wings trying to estimate how long a debate will last and the office of the Minister concerned must stay in constant contact with the staff to monitor progress in the House. Adherence to the time fixed on the Order of Business would enable them to schedule their day properly with the minimum of disruption.
In relation to ordering statements on Thursday afternoons, I foresee no difficulty with this except on the days when we have a heavy legislative programme to fulfil and it is necessary to give priority to a debate on a Bill. However, the party Whips are aware of their responsibility in relation to the passage of legislation, so this is a matter which can be decided on a commonsense basis.
The report makes three recommendations which require an amendment to Standing Orders. First, it proposes that a Private Members' motion be taken in full each week. I welcome that proposal. In my first couple of weeks as Whip, I felt that a motion lost its impetus when carried forward a week. I think this will be of benefit to the House and should lead to a more concerted and effective debate and ensure that the impetus will not be lost as can happen under the present system. The overall time will be reduced to two hours and the debate will commence at 6 p.m. The time allowed for the proposer will be reduced to 15 minutes when moving the motion and a further ten minutes when replying. A maximum of ten minutes will be allowed to the seconder and any other Senator contributing. In view of the reduction in the overall time, the time allowed for the Minister's contribution is also being restricted to 15 minutes. The effect of this change in procedure is that it will double the number of motions discussed. On the adverse side, there will be a reduction in the time allowed to speakers but most people should be able to adequately express their views in ten minutes.
Motions will be selected on the basis of a six week rota in proportion of Government two, Opposition four. This rota is based on the numerical strength of the groups and the only group who will be adversely affected are the Independent Group who up to now enjoyed equal standing with other groups in the Opposition, in particular Fine Gael.
Second, the report recommends that the time allocated for debate on a matter on the Adjournment be reduced to 15 minutes, with ten minutes for the proposer and five minutes for the Minister to reply. The Chair will select two items for discussion each night which again, in effect doubles the number of matters which can be discussed. The only disadvantage is the reduction in time but most matters can be dealt with adequately in the time allocated.
Thirdly, and finally, the report also introduced a new concept in Standing Order No. 29a set out in the schedule to the report and deals with matters of concern to Members. The problem in regard to the structure of the Order of Business is dealt with in this half hour. If Members do not see this as an opportunity to raise matters of concern instead of raising issues with the Cathaoirleach and the Leader on the Order of Business each day, the Order of Business in the three months time will be as it has been up to now. It is vital that we get across to Members that this half hour is available to Members to raise matters that up to now were raised at the Order of Business. Most of them have nothing to do with the Order of Business or with legislation and, in most instances, have nothing to do with a national issue. This procedure will obviously have an effect and the Committee hope it will help improve the position at the Order of Business. We should be able to deal with legislation before 3 p.m. each day.
Under the new procedure on a Wednesday night, after the conclusion of the debate on the motion for the Adjournment, a Member may make a two minute statement about any matter of which prior notice has been given to the Cathaoirleach. There is an overall time limit of 30 minutes which means that up to 15 matters can be raised. The names of Members concerned will be announced in the House in conjunction with the motions on the Adjournment by the Cathaoirleach before the Order of Business.
It is hoped that the introduction of this procedure will channel away much of the peripheral debate from the Order of Business and, in this way, lead to a better and more efficient Seanad.
This report is merely a step forward. It does not contain any major change and does not purport in any way to meet all the wishes of Senators. I am aware that many Senators are calling for more fundamental and extensive changes including amendment to the electoral system and the electorate. Such changes would require amending legislation in some form and, as I said, the committee at this stage are concerned only with matters within their own control.
The recommendations will be implemented on a trial basis during the next session and their effectiveness will be monitored and reviewed after the summer recess. We agreed that we would review them before we break for the summer recess. There are other areas where changes can also be implemented and other Standing Orders which can be reviewed, in particular Standing Order 29 but these are matters for another day. As a start we have the proposals in this report and I recommend their acceptance to the House.
I should like to put on record my sincere thanks to the Members of the Committee on Procedure and Privileges, to the leaders of the groups, to the former Cathaoirleach and to yourself, both as the former Leader and now Cathaoirleach for help informulating the proposals before the House. I know it is the desire of all Members that we will be more efficient and more in tune with political life today. I hope that, in these changes, we will make one small step towards that.