I, too, call for a period of calm reflection after what was a bumpy ride, to say the least, for the last few weeks. It was one of those peculiar, bizarre and typically Irish situations that the Seanad found itself it in, where its very survival was a matter of considerable public discourse. I believe that reform will happen in due course because the people voted very clearly for reform. They want us to reform and we will do so. In recent months I have studied the various reports on reform and the Seanad Bill proposed by Senators Katherine Zappone and Feargal Quinn. One of the biggest concerns of the public is the fact that only 2% or 3% of the population has a vote in Seanad elections. The aforementioned Bill could provide everyone in Ireland with a vote, which is very interesting. A constitutional referendum would not be required to effect such a change. There are a lot of possibilities but we need to get it right. That will take a period of time.

Will the Leader facilitate a period of reflection for several months to ensure what happens in the future with this House will be correct, reflect what the people want and that this House will support our democracy, which is not even 100 years old? We still are a very young democracy and this Chamber will play a crucial role in not just getting us out of our present difficulties but ensuring Ireland becomes the best country in the world.

The Seanad has received an enormous mandate from the people.

The Senator’s time is up.

That mandate brings with it a deep responsibility. We certainly need to live up to and honour that responsibility.

The Leader has put statements on political reform on the Order Paper for tonight. It will be interesting to see how many of those Members who want to get in on the Order of Business will be here tonight for that debate. One political reform might be instead of Members and the media using and highlighting two minute soundbites on the Order of Business, they would choose not to ignore contributions made by Members over five hours on important legislation.

I will be in the Chamber tonight.

I just want to point out that we will have that special item later tonight.

I agree with the Leader that the most important issue is the forthcoming budget and jobs, particularly when we have one citizen leaving the State every six minutes due to emigration. The way we reform these Houses and our way of government will ensure, in the long term, that the economic crisis that befell us will not happen again. Colleagues have spoken about the Constitutional Convention but the issue of the Seanad’s place in the Constitution has been settled. It is not an issue for the Constitutional Convention to look at again. The two Seanad reform Bills introduced by Senators John Crown and Feargal Quinn and Katherine Zappone should be examined again. The Seanad Public Consultation Committee, which the Leader and Senator ivana Bacik have championed, is the proper way for the Seanad to examine its own role.

Many times I have pointed out how the Oireachtas has failed in EU scrutiny. In the first two years after the Lisbon treaty was passed, 139 items of legislation were sent from Europe to be examined by national parliaments. Of the 428 submissions made subsequently by national parliaments, Ireland made only one, an appalling record for a democracy. We must also examine the Seanad’s role in Government appointments and get an outside examination of our government system such as one by the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. The role of the permanent government in our democracy has never been analysed. It calls itself the permanent government and is always there. This week there will not be a debate on the forthcoming budget. It is the permanent government that frames the budget and decides the line items but the Ministers themselves do not even know what is in it before it is announced in the Dáil Chamber. That is not a way for a democracy to do business.

A reformed Seanad also needs to have a role and a vote for the Irish overseas, our emigrants and those in the North.

For once, we are all in agreement in this Chamber. Senator John Crown pointed to the outcome of the 1979 referendum which gave graduates from other third level institutions a vote in Seanad university elections. When I asked the Minister of State, Deputy Brian Hayes, why this referendum result had never been enacted, he could not answer. He did not bother coming back to me on it either.

To paraphrase Shakespeare, “I have come to bury the Seanad, not to praise it.” That is what Ministers and Deputies did. It is time they came back and said, “We have come to praise the Seanad, not to bury it.” From now on we should get the respect we deserve. When we debated the referendum, I stated I had no problem with the people making a choice on the Seanad. Strictly speaking, the vote was not about reforming the Seanad but retaining it as it stands. It is up to us as Senators, with the help of others who would give us advice, to reform it in a way that is for the betterment of society.

We still have people this week saying it is dysfunctional, it is an affront to democracy and it is undemocratic. Those people have no respect for their own Constitution. In the past few months, like the hounds after the hares, people could smell blood and they went after us, but it backfired on them. The Irish people are not stupid. I ask all Deputies and some Senators who say this is an affront to democracy to step back and examine themselves. They are saying they are part of an affront to democracy and part of an undemocratic institution. We got a reprieve, but it is up to us to prove the importance of the Seanad for the next Seanad, whatever form it takes. People should stop kicking us around as they have been doing. We are an easy target. The press and the political boot boys will move to another target.

I acknowledge the presence of the former Senator, Professor George Eogan, in the Visitors Gallery. Professor Eogan is one of our more distinguished predecessors, having led the excavations at Knowth. At the time he was the first person in Knowth in millennia, and in Newgrange. His contribution to Irish society and this Seanad should be recognised. I thank thim. He was in Nobber yesterday at the O'Carolan Harp, Cultural and Heritage Festival. I could not be there myself.

Many people, even at the very top of Government, do not know what the powers and functions of the Seanad are. I suggest the Oireachtas Library and Research Service set out a one page document on the functions of the Seanad. We have all heard about the 90 day delaying power, which is one of the main functions and powers of the Seanad, but we have a whole range of other powers not just in the Constitution but also in statute. We have to approve much European legislation in the area of justice and home affairs. As individual Members we have the same rights as Deputies in the Oireachtas committees. There are a range of other issues in legislation and it is important we set them out and assert ourselves as a Chamber. Only with that full knowledge of what we can and should do can we operate as a full Chamber. I do not know if the Leader has discussed today's extra business with my party leadership - I will go with their view on it - but my view is that it is way too early and we have a perfect opportunity on Thursday to do this. I will be here on Thursday. The Seanad should sit on Thursday and that is the view of most Members.

I was delighted earlier this year when the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government announced the establishment of the Pyrite Resolution Board and the pyrite remediation scheme. Only during the summer did I discover that this requires legislation to establish. I see no sign of the legislation and would like to know where it is. The Seanad would be willing to play its part and initiate that legislation to get it going. Announcements were made in March and during the summer about this issue and people were delighted. We welcomed this and did not begrudge it in any way. We want it to happen as soon as possible. I thought things would be moving by now and so did others because these houses are in such a bad state and they keep getting worse and worse. I would like the Seanad not to delay the scheme, even if the Government has not given us the legislation to pass.