Retiring Senator Dr Mary Henry on the ups and downs of the job
(Irish Times supplement, "How we are governed")
17 April 2007
All legislation must go through both Houses and Bills can be introduced into either one. The Seanad has a less party-political atmosphere than the Dáil, allowing opportunities, especially as an Independent, to have amendments considered by ministers.
No one ever hears of a ministerial U-turn in the Seanad because the proceedings are little reported. But some ministers are particularly good at allowing a few amendments early in the debate, to settle senators down and speed passage of a Bill.
A private members' Bill can be used to suggest legislation. With the help of legal friends I introduced the Child Sex Tours Bill 1995, providing for prosecution in Ireland of anyone involved sexually with children abroad. While not accepted by the then minister for justice, Nora Owen, she incorporated it substantially into legislation of her own.
My second Bill was the Regulation of Assisted Human Reproduction Bill 1999. Again, the then minister for health, Micheál Martin, chose not to accept it, but he did set up the Commission on Assisted Human Reproduction to look at the issue. The commission did splendid work, reporting in March 2005, but there has been no follow-up legislation to date. (A case regarding the status of the fertilised egg is before the courts and any legislation is being delayed until after the Supreme Court rules.)
I had a third go at legislating over the system of wards of court. An excellent report from the Law Reform Commission, Vulnerable Adults and the Law, suggested a guardianship system which would allow a graded scheme of personal decisions in individual cases. My Bill, the Mental Capacity and Guardianship Bill 2007, covered the recommendations and, to my delight, the Government supported it.
This issue is important because all decisions, even minor ones, about wards of court are supervised. The feedback was important and the Bill brought letters from the parents of children injured in accidents who had been given large awards by the courts. They resented the fact that now-adult children cannot even leave the jurisdiction without permission.
There are also opportunities in the adjournment debates at the end of each day to publicise issues. The formula is to put forward the issue of concern as "the need for the minister (for whatever) to..." and then one writes a few lines on the topic. When the Seanad adjourns the three people chosen by Cathaoirleach to speak get to plead their cases, often, however, to little effect.
Since I was elected, nearly 15 years ago, I've unsuccessfully put down adjournment debates on the need to fortify bread with folic acid. Ireland has the highest world incidence of neural tube defects in the embryo - about 100 a year - which result in children being born with either anencephaly, a lethal brain condition, or spina bifida. Folic acid taken by the woman before conception and in early pregnancy greatly reduces the rate.
One of the most infuriating things for politicians is trying to deal with the vast, unreadable number of reports that come across our desks. Many are excellent but never get debated. I managed to have the Report of the Inspector of Mental Hospitals debated, as soon as I got elected, for the first time in 20 years.
Once again, it appears, to little effect. The recently published Report of the Inspector of Mental Health Services has as many criticisms and evidence of lack of progress in the mental health area as were there in 1992.
I have enjoyed the occasional opportunity to chair sessions, standing in for the Cathaoirleach, even when in debates on agriculture the participants locked horns across the floor as if they felt it necessary to emulate bullocks! Sometimes it is hard to remember the TV cameras and it looks bad to see the Chair shaking her fist at members!
I'll miss the Seanad. It's been a privilege to be there in that lovely chamber and I'm grateful both to those who voted for me and the staff throughout Leinster House. Despite what one reads, politicians aren't bad, either. I do regret that people feel the deputies and senators are just lolling - to get anything done requires a great deal of work, from committee work to meeting delegations, and much more than working in the Chamber.
"What are you going to do?" I'm asked. Apart from pulling the duvet up to my chin and reading novels, to my delight I've been asked to serve on the new National Commission on Restorative Justice. With that and Trinity and hospital committees I'll be busy. I hope to see more of my long-suffering family, too.
Senator Mary Henry, MD
