MacGill Summer School: Too many TDs are using the Dáil to raise local issues and not to legislate, a Fine Gael TD has said.
Mr John Deasy also told the MacGill Summer School in Glenties, Co Donegal, yesterday that the number of TDs elected to the Dáil should be reduced to between 90 and 100.
He strongly criticised the present workings of the Oireachtas and the scale of private and corporate financial contributions to political parties.
Addressing the theme "The political system - can it contribute more and better?" Mr Deasy said that, while some politicians might whine about an issue when it came to the vote, they would vote for it because of the party whip.
Although he acknowledged that there must be some form of party structure, he felt that TDs should be given a free vote more often and that all votes should be recorded so the electorate knew exactly where a public representative stood on an issue.
"Too many TDs are lobby fodder or use the excuse of the whip," he said.
He also said Ireland could learn from the parliament procedures in the US House of Representatives where politicians at the start of business were given one minute to raise an issue - which set the tone for the day - while the rest of the day was spent legislating.
"Many people have switched off from Dáil proceedings. they are not user-friendly," he said.
Turning to the Seanad, he said it should either be given a legislative role or scrapped. "I am still confused about what role it has, and the same applies to the majority of the public," he said.
He also criticised the present system of appointing judges and said their records needed to be looked at, not their political affiliations.
He maintained that some judges were "not in touch with reality and what is going on in the streets of society".
He expressed concern about the public perception that politics as a profession was now seen as "something dirty" and that community and civic spirit was being driven out the window. On the question of political donations, he said that anyone who said it was not a corrupting influence was crazy.
The Green Party chairman, Mr John Gormley, who also supports a reduction in the number of TDs, said the political system was essential in the creation of a civilised society. He maintained that small elites controlled political parties and set the political agenda.
"You may have a vote, and Dr Tony O'Reilly and Mr Michael Smurfit may have a vote each, so in theory all three of you are equal - but is it really so?
"Is there anyone who actually believes they exercise the same political influence as these extremely wealthy individuals?" he asked.
To arrest the slide in the credibility of politics, there was a need for reform, starting with Dáil Éireann and its antiquated structures.