Seanad should go

I would challenge any reader to name any significant difference the Seanad makes to Irish life, in fact I would challenge any reader to name any piece of legislation the Seanad enacted or affected, better still name three current Senators?  I bet even remembering Mayo's long term senator is a challenge.

 

Can anyone answer the simple question of 'What does the Seanad do?'   We know what the Dail does, we know what our local councils do, but does anyone know what the Seanad does?

 

That's why I will canvass for the abolition of the Seanad when the promised referendum is called.

 

The Seanad, the upper house of the Oireachtas, is beyond reform and a drain on the nation's resources.

 

The Seanad is an undemocratic body which performs no specific function other than provide a resting home for failed or defeated Dail candidates.  A home for wanna-bes or had-beens.

 

Since 1937 ten separate official reports have been published on reform of the Seanad none of which have led to major reforms or even proposed reform which would make the Seanad  worth keeping.

 

Many democratic nations such as Sweden, New Zealand, Denmark and Portugal function perfectly without an upper house, in fact half the nations of the world only have one chamber.

 

Ireland is overly represented by national politicians with no increase in efficiency compared to other countries of similar size. The fact is that 55 of 76 countries worldwide with populations under 5 million have just one chamber. 

 

Constitutional theory has also evolved so that checks and balances no longer require a second house but strong committee systems.  A committee system which is already being strengthened by the current government.

 

Its university representation is a bizarre system which excludes too many people, likewise the panel system and Taoiseach's nominees mean that the chamber is stuffed with members of the "old boys network".

 

Out of six university senators, three are elected by Trinity graduates and UCD and the three other NUI institutions elect the remaining three.  The Institutes of Technologies don't get a look in. But why should any graduate have a vote while other citizens do not.  Then again, why should City and County Councillors elect Senators?  What kind of elitism is that in a modern republic?

 

This practice dates back to hundreds of years, as before independence Trinity contributed MPs to Britain's House of Commons. During the Free State Trinity elected TDs, before the modern Seanad Eireann was eventually formed in 1937.

 

So really the Seanad is a hangover from our pre-independence days, a relic like the House of Lords but with all the power of a day time chat show that no-one watches.

 

If the Seanad is popularly elected then it merely duplicates the Dail, and if it is elected through different means then there is a democratic deficit. Therefore it does not act as an effective check on the Dail.

 

The Seanad is costing the taxpayers €25 million a year to run.  Can anyone say it's worth the money?

 

I can't and that is why I will be asking you to vote to abolish the Seanad.