Senator Bacik calls for Debate on Constitutional Convention

Order of Business

Tuesday, 12 June 2012

Senator Ivana Bacik: I assure Senator Darragh O'Brien that I will convey his comments directly to the Tánaiste. I join him in welcoming Dr. Dhaif and her colleagues and commend their bravery in continuing to stand up for human rights and the right of doctors to perform their medical duties in Bahrain under enormous pressure. As he observed, we have raised this issue in the House on previous occasions. I assure him that we on this side, together with colleagues on all other sides, will do all we can to ensure the oppression in Bahrain is brought to an end. Given that the final verdict in the trials is expected this Thursday, I agree that there is urgency attached to the matter. It was only following international pressure that the trials were moved to a civilian court. We must have more of that type of pressure brought to bear on the Bahraini authorities. As the Senator said, there is a particular reason for us to do so, given the very strong links between Bahrain and the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland which has been rightly criticised by many for its failure in the past to stand up for the rights of medics in Bahrain. I hope we will see a greater degree of courage in that quarter.

Will the Leader allow for a debate on the upcoming constitutional convention? Like others last week, I very much welcome the setting up of the constitutional convention, the idea of which was put forward by the Tánaiste, as Labour Party leader, at the Labour Party conference in Galway in 2010. It is very much welcome that it will be made up of 33 elected representatives, but with a majority of 66 citizens, who will examine a range of issues. The first two issues will be the voting age and the presidential term. I very much look forward to the broader range of issues which will be considered by the constitutional convention. Some very important issues will be dealt with. It would be worthwhile if the Seanad was to debate, perhaps in parallel with the convention, some of these issues - for example, amending the clause on the role of women in the home, greater participation of women in public life and the role which gender sensitive parliamentary procedures can play in encouraging more women to come forward. There are some very obvious things we in the Seanad can do to assist and support the work of the constitutional convention.

We all welcome the Leader's announcement that the Orange Order has been invited to the Seanad on 3 July. That is a remarkable and historic step and it will mark a historic day for the Seanad. Next Tuesday will be another historic day for the Seanad with the Seanad Public Consultation Committee having a second round of hearings in the Chamber, this time on issues around cancer prevention. This week we will have a debate on the report the Seanad Public Consultation Committee produced on the rights of older people. This is a change in procedure and a real break with the more traditional procedures of the past in the Seanad and it shows the real value and worth of this House.