Vol. 246 Wednesday, No. 1 8 June 2016 DÍOSPÓIREACHTAÍ PARLAIMINTE PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES SEANAD ÉIREANN TUAIRISC OIFIGIÚIL—Neamhcheartaithe (OFFICIAL REPORT—Unrevised) Insert Date Here 08/06/2016A00100Business of Seanad 2 26/05/2016A00200FORÓGRA AG COMÓRADH SHEANAD ÉIREANN 2 26/05/2016A00300PROCLAMATION SUMMONING SEANAD ÉIREANN 2 26/05/2016B00100AINMNEACHA NA gCOMHALTAÍ A AINMNÍODH AGUS NA gCOMHALTAÍ A TOGHADH 3 26/05/2016B00200NAMES OF THE MEMBERS NOMINATED AND OF THE MEMBERS ELECTED 3 SEANAD ÉIREANN Dé Céadaoin, 8 Meitheamh 2016 Wednesday, 8 June 2016 Machnamh agus Paidir. Reflection and Prayer. Tháinig an Seanad le chéile ar 230 pm Bhí an Leas-Cléireach, Martin Groves, i láthair The Seanad assembled at 230 pm The Clerk Assistant, Mr Martin Groves, attending Léigh an Leas-Cléireach Fógra Uachtarán na hÉireann ag comóradh Sheanad Éireann The Clerk Assistant read the Proclamation of the President of Ireland convening Seanad Éireann Seo a leanas an Forógra: The Proclamation was as follows: 26/05/2016A00200FORÓGRA AG COMÓRADH SHEANAD ÉIREANN 26/05/2016A00300PROCLAMATION SUMMONING SEANAD ÉIREANN De bhun comhairle a thairg an Taoiseach dom faoi alt 8 d’Airteagal 18 den Bhunreacht, déa- naimse, MICHEÁL D Ó hUIGÍNN, Uachtarán na hÉireann, a shocrú leis seo gur Dé Chéad- aoin, an 8ú lá de Mheitheamh, 2016, an lá a thiocfaidh Seanad Éireann le chéile ar chéadtionól tar éis an Olltoghcháin a bhí ann le déanaí ARNA THABHAIRT FAOI MO LÁIMH AGUS FAOI MO SHÉALA AN 30Ú LÁ SEO DE BHEALTAINE, 2016 Pursuant to an advice tendered to me by the Taoiseach under section 8 of Article 18 of the Constitution, I, MICHAEL D. HIGGINS, President of Ireland, hereby fix Wednesday, the 8th day of June, 2016, for the first meeting of Seanad Éireann after the General Election lately held. 2 8 June 2016 GIVEN UNDER MY HAND AND SEAL THIS 30th DAY OF MAY, 2016 Micheál D Ó hUigínn Uachtarán na hÉireann (President of Ireland) Éanna Ó Coinnigh Taoiseach 26/05/2016B00100AINMNEACHA NA gCOMHALTAÍ A AINMNÍODH AGUS NA gCOMHALTAÍ A TOGHADH 26/05/2016B00200NAMES OF THE MEMBERS NOMINATED AND OF THE MEMBERS ELECTED 08/06/2016B00300Leas-Cléireach an tSeanaid: Is iad seo a leanas ainmneacha na gComhaltaí a ainmníodh agus na gComhaltaí a toghadh: 08/06/2016B00400Clerk Assistant of the Seanad: The following are the names of the Members nominated and of the Members elected: NOMINATED MEMBERS Paudie Coffey Joan Freeman Michelle Mulherin Ray Butler Frank Feighan John O’Mahony James Reilly Billy Lawless Colette Kelleher Pádraig Ó Céidigh Marie-Louise O’Donnell UNIVERSITY MEMBERS National University of Ireland Michael McDowell Rónán Mullen Alice-Mary Higgins 3 Seanad Éireann University of Dublin David Norris Ivana Bacik Lynn Ruane PANEL MEMBERS CULTURAL AND EDUCATIONAL PANEL Nominating Bodies Sub-Panel Fintan Warfield Keith Swanick Oireachtas Sub-Panel Kieran O’Donnell Lorraine Clifford-Lee Gabrielle McFadden AGRICULTURAL PANEL Nominating Bodies Sub-Panel Denis O’Donovan Paddy Burke Brian Ó Domhnaill Paul Daly Maria Byrne Tim Lombard Denis Landy Oireachtas Sub-Panel Rose Conway-Walsh Trevor Ó Clochartaigh Victor Boyhan Grace O’Sullivan LABOUR PANEL Nominating Bodies Sub-Panel 4 8 June 2016 Paul Gavan Gerard P Craughwell Ned O’Sullivan Robbie Gallagher Gerald Nash Terry Leyden Oireachtas Sub-Panel Máire Devine Jerry Buttimer Jennifer Murnane O’Connor Joe O’Reilly Neale Richmond INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL PANEL Nominating Bodies Sub-Panel Catherine Noone Frances Black Colm Burke Paul Coghlan Aidan Davitt Gerry Horkan Oireachtas Sub-Panel Pádraig Mac Lochlainn Catherine Ardagh Aodhán Ó Ríordáin ADMINISTRATIVE PANEL Nominating Bodies Sub-Panel Mark Daly Martin Conway John Dolan Oireachtas Sub-Panel Niall Ó Donnghaile Maura Hopkins Kevin Humphreys 5 Seanad Éireann Diarmuid Wilson In compliance with Standing Order 3, the Clerk has laid before the House a copy of each of the certificates of the results of the polls for elected Members and a copy of the communication from the Taoiseach stating the names of the nominated Members 08/06/2016B00500Election of Cathaoirleach 08/06/2016B00600Clerk Assistant of the Seanad: The next business under Standing Orders is the election of the Cathaoirleach Under Standing Order 2, the Chair will be taken by Senator David Norris, the Senator with the longest continuous period of service in the House He was elected on 14 April 1987 and has served continuously since I call on him to take the Chair Senator David Norris took the Chair. 08/06/2016B00800Senator David Norris: Ladies and gentlemen and fellow Senators, it is, first, my great pleasure and honour to welcome you to this magnificent Chamber. It is a privilege to work in a place of such aesthetic beauty and I hope it will not be too long before the necessary repairs are completed and that Seanad Éireann can return permanently to its proper home. When I was elected some 30 years ago, this room was also closed for refurbishment and for the first term, we met in the ante chamber. However, I managed to sneak in and examine the ceiling which I at once identified as the work of the master stuccadore of the 18th century, Michael Stapleton. The entire central section and the apse were unstable and had to be replaced It amuses me sometimes when I hear visitors to Leinster House look up at Stapleton’s great ceiling and say, “Ah Jaysus, they could do great work in them days but they couldn’t do it now They don’t have the talent.” I then explain to them that one third of the ceiling is a completely modern reinstatement and that even I could not tell the difference; therefore, Ireland most definitely still has the talent That talent, politically expressed, is to be found today in the Members of Seanad Éire- ann There is, of course, criticism of some of the methods of election and selection by which Members arrive in the House but very few would deny the ability and capacity of virtually all Members I might, however, be forgiven a degree of amusement at the presence of a number of new or former Members who campaigned vigorously for the abolition of the very House in which they now sit. To show how complex political life is, despite their dismissive attitude, I recognised their genuine contribution to public life and voted for some of them In addition to welcoming the new Senators, there is also a sense of loss in the absence of some valued in- dividuals who, sadly, were unsuccessful in the recent election I think, in particular, of Maurice Cummins and Dr Sean Barrett Maurice Cummins was certainly the best Leader I had encoun- tered in a long career as a Senator. It is a sidelight on the exigencies of the political system that it so signally failed to recognise his qualities, despite his sterling record perhaps but because of his loyalty to this House when his party tried to suppress it No attempt was made by Fine Gael to come to his aid My colleague, Dr Sean Barrett, was unequivocally the best Member of the Seanad Many amendments in his name were successfully passed. He introduced a number of excellent legis- lative proposals and was an important and diligent member of the Joint Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis Moreover, I understand he was also frequently consulted by the Gov- 6 8 June 2016 ernment on economic matters It was a travesty that such a man should lose his seat and an indication that the public remained largely unaware of the valuable work done by Senators In the period of the last Oireachtas, two major referenda were fought - one on marriage equality and the other on the abolition of the Seanad The move towards marriage equality started in this House with the Civil Partnership Bill 2004, something of which Seanad Éireann can feel legitimately proud In the debates on abolition, I was appalled that so many Senators, on orders from party headquarters, actually voted for the destruction of their own House I said at the time that they were not just turkeys voting for Christmas but also turkeys who had obligingly rolled over and then trussed, stuffed and eviscerated themselves. With three weeks to go, we were losing the referendum according to the opinion polls I discharged myself from hospital and together with the former Senators Dr Seán Barrett and Professor John Crown turned it around just in time Night after night Professor John Crown eviscerated Cabinet Ministers on Radio Éireann Dr Sean Barrett marshalled meetings in every university in the Republic I appeared on the “Ray D’Arcy Show”, as well as all of the provincial radio stations and commanded a national Twitter campaign In the end, we prevailed The Taoiseach admitted to taking a knock and in Dublin Castle Yard promised reform, but nothing is happening. There is already in existence a Dáil reform committee but, as yet, no sign of a Seanad reform committee I hereby call on the Taoiseach to include reform of the Seanad in the remit of the committee There is virtually unanimous agreement that reform is necessary, but will we get it? The party system has the Seanad in thrall and it is highly unusual for political parties to yield power According to the Fianna Fáil leader, Deputy Micheál Martin, as reported in The Irish Times on Saturday, 7 May: First of all, the Oireachtas needs to be freed from the absolute control which govern- ment currently has on its work Few parts of the Constitution are ignored as much as article 2841 which states that: “The Government shall be responsible to Dáil Éireann” In prac- tice the Taoiseach and his Ministers exert near total control over the Dáil. In the Senead the control is not just total; it is, in fact, complete A proper reform of the Seanad requires visionary imagination, yet how can anyone defend a system under which at the last by-election some months ago a seat in the national Parliament was won with a total elec- torate of a mere 200 votes.