Bermuda’s Parliament must be modernised, according to the Joint Select Committee’s report on Bermuda’s governance — but budget constraints will limit moves to update the Island’s legislature.

Committee chairman Cole Simons opened Friday’s debate on the report, which advises putting Parliament and the Senate together under one roof.

The report also says Sessions House is subject to “sick buildings syndrome”, adding: “Mould, ventilation, water leakage, wiring and fire safety hazards are just a few of the vexing issues often discussed by the parliamentary House and Grounds Committee.”

Progressive Labour Party MP Lovitta Foggo told MPs that the governmental structure in Bermuda had unquestionably become “outdated”.

“Parliament in Bermuda has been in existence since 1620,” she said. “It has gone through some transformation — but when you look at the overall picture, very little has changed in the way we go about doing our duties.”

She said it was crucial that MPs have access to better library resources and archives for quick in-house research.

“One criticism is that often, when we get to our feet, too much of what’s said has little do with the intricacies of the legislation we are dealing with,” Ms Foggo said — noting that the online Hansard system gave the public welcome insight into the House, but also left a permanent audio record of MPs’ mistakes.

Enhancing the independence of Parliament was vital, she said, as “quite often people believe it is the Executive that control everything, and dictate to Parliament”.

She welcomed the creation of an independent Management Commission to oversee administration of the Island’s legislature.

However, Health Minister Trevor Moniz sounded a “reality check” — noting that while some recommendations came at no cost, such as the adoption of a UK-based code of conduct, others would hit the public purse.

“We need to keep it real, particularly in light of the financial restraints that we face,” he said.

Mr Moniz expressed scepticism at the creation of more Committees, saying the many of them didn’t appear to do much.

He called for “a prioritisation of things that cost less rather than more”.