I recently had a very engaging chat with students from the politics and society class in St. Joseph's College. It is a school the Tánaiste is very familiar with. They asked some very interesting questions, including one on Seanad reform and specifically about having more diverse voices and minority voices included, going beyond the Taoiseach's nominees to assist. I was thinking about that in the context of the Manning report which proposes having more of a democratic input from the public. We have seen the expansion of the universities on the university panel, which is welcome, but we need to make the Seanad more democratic. For example, we could have different sections like labour and arts where a member of the electorate could choose the section they wish to vote in. We should engage and open that process again to have real Seanad reform, as was the wish of the people in the referendum over ten years ago. The Government might revisit the issue and look at real Seanad reform this time around.

I thank the Deputy. I know St. Joseph's well. It is a school I have frequently visited. I was out there relatively recently with the school principal, Bernadette, and others for the opening of their extension. Any time I have been there, including during the general election, I always find the students give me a good grilling and are very engaging. I thank the Deputy for raising with me the output of some of his engagement with them.

On the issue of Seanad reform, the Seanad referendum was one of those ones that we clearly got wrong. The people of Ireland said they wanted to keep a second Chamber and they wanted a bicameral system. They were right, as the people of Ireland always are. They are sovereign in these decisions. What everyone did say during the referendum, though, was that we want to keep the Seanad but we want to reform it. The question was always whether the reform would ever happen. Years later, truthfully, it still has not. I need to engage with colleagues to see where that is at. Any reform of the Seanad would require a cross-party view as to how to take it forward. The Manning report did do some interesting work but I will speak to the Minister for housing and local government in the first instance.