Seanad report: Amid sharp exchanges, the leader of the House, Ms Mary O'Rourke, rejected a Fine Gael claim that there was to be "cherry-picking" on reform of the Seanad through the provision of seats for members of Northern Ireland parties as part of a side deal to a peace agreement.
Ms O'Rourke said the Taoiseach was minded to appoint as senators persons from all the different political backgrounds by way of a constitutional amendment and not at random.
"He wishes that it be formalised in a formula which would ensure that different political voices would be heard in the House. I cannot call that cherry-picking, because it is a very good idea and one which should be embraced by all sides of the House," she said.
She added that Mr Hayes (Fine Gael) knew that a package and a committee had been set up to deal with these matters.
Mr Hayes: "A whole package?"
Ms O'Rourke: "Yes, exactly."
Earlier Mr Hayes said it was clear that there was a difference between the Government parties on what constituted an end to IRA criminality and violence. A debt of gratitude was owed to the Progressive Democrats, who had sought clarity on the issue.
Mr David Norris (Ind) said it was insulting to the House that a side deal had been done without reference to it. Were they going to have criminals parachuted into the Seanad?
Mr Derek McDowell (Lab) said it was necessary that they should seek to get representatives from both Northern communities into the House. "Efforts to do that will necessarily be damaged if Seanad reform appears to be driven by the needs, requirements or desires of one party, which appears to be happening at present," he said.
Mr John Dardis (PD), deputy Government leader in the House, said that in terms of the proposed settlement, they needed to know if the IRA would give up all its activities, including criminality. The surveillance of Oireachtas members was intolerable in a democratic state.
Mr Dardis said that those on all sides of the House would have to accept some very unpalatable aspects in order to bring a conclusion to the current process.
Mr Michael Finucane (FG) said it would appear the IRA was not prepared to sign up to an end to criminality. He wondered how the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Mr McDowell, could countersign a deal on behalf of the PDs, in which this important component had not been agreed to.
Dr Martin Mansergh (FF) said it was important that people from all parties and the governments did not draw back from what they had been prepared to agree.
"In the case of unpopular aspects, it may require a certain degree of discipline and backbone. However, I am encouraged. There has been admirable unity among Ministers sitting at the Cabinet table during difficult negotiations which are not easy for anyone. We need to understand those considerations."
Mr Maurice Cummins (FG) said he noted how those who were new converts to democracy were now insisting on dictating who should be members of the House.