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Ireland's political and cultural magazine
— village November - December 2009
Deirdre De Búrca
The Second House should be
reformed so it advises and
supervises the Dáil.
that before I became a member
of the Seanad, I knew little about it other than it
was the Upper Chamber of our national parlia-
ment, that it had the reputation of being some-
thing of a talking shop, that as a graduate of UCD
I had an opportunity to elect individuals to the
Seanad, and that its overall role as far as the pub-
lic was concerned was somewhat unclear. Since
becoming a Senator, I have had plenty of oppor-
tunity to experience at first hand the institution’s
somewhat arcane processes and procedures, and
indeed to assess its overall effectiveness – albeit
from the perspective of an insider.
I do not agree with abolition of the Seanad,
but instead advocate what might be described as
‘drastic surgery’ for the institution. I believe that
the Seanad could comfortably tolerate a reduc-
tion in its size of about one third (i.e. down to
Senators). I also believe there is significant scope
for changing both the way in which the Seanad
is elected and also its functions.
Now that I have ‘outed’ myself as a Seanad
Reformer, rather than an Abolitionist, I must
also acknowledge that eleven separate ‘official’
reports, that were published on the subject of
the reform of the Seanad between and
, have largely been ignored. Furthermore,
although a constitutional amendment to broaden
the scope of university representation in Seanad
Éireann beyond TCD and the NUI to other insti-
tutions of higher education was passed in
by the Irish people, this reform has also not yet
been implemented. In other words, there is com-
pelling evidence to suggest that there has been
a complete and total lack of political will in rela-
tion to Seanad reform over the years.
Typically in parliaments based on a bicam-
eral system, direct universal suffrage elects the
lower chamber, while indirect universal suffrage
elects the upper chamber. The bicameral system,
common across most European States, is based
on the idea that it is possible to have two kinds
of election without considering that one of the
resulting elected chambers is less democratic
than the other. While the direct universal suf-
frage which elects the Lower House is seen to
embody the national will, it is argued that the
indirect universal suffrage which tends to elect
Upper Houses reflects movements of opinion that
are more profound and of a longer duration.
The second or Upper chamber is seen as a bal-
ancing force rather than a brake on the Lower
Chamber, and the work of legislation is seen to
have more chance of being done well if it moves
through two processes, each complete in itself.
A further argument in favour of the bicam-
eral system is that a single House may be tempted
to exploit its omnipotence, particularly if it is
confronting a weak government.
Defeat of the Government even on an impor-
tant issue in the Upper House does not automat-
ically involve the downfall of the Government.
However, for reasons of prestige and because it
can adversely affect public opinion, governments
dislike defeats in the Upper House. Therefore
many Constitutions do seek to ensure that the
Government has a working majority in the sec-
ond House.
As far as the Irish Parliament is concerned, if
we accept that the existence of an Upper House or
second chamber is desirable, then the real ques-
tions must be how should it be elected, and what
should its powers and functions be? The Senate
in the Irish Constitution is commonly
referred to as a ‘vocational’ Senate. Article of
the Constitution provides for a Senate composed
of members, of whom are nominated by
the Taoiseach, and are elected members.
Elected members of the Seanad are elected as
follows – by the National University of Ireland
(consisting of the three constituent university
colleges of Dublin Cork and Galway), by Trinity
College Dublin, and from five panels of candi-
dates who have knowledge
and practical experience
of certain interests and
services.
The five panels are
supposed to provide bal-
anced vocational rep-
resentation and they
include the Cultural and
Educational, Agriculture,
Labour, Industrial and
Administrative panels.
Each panel is divided into two sub-panels – one
composed of candidates nominated by at least
members of the Oireachtas, and another com-
posed of candidates nominated by registered
groups from each area. A register of bodies
entitled to nominate candidates to the panels is
maintained and revised every year by the Clerk
of the Seanad. However, it is important to point
out that these nominating bodies do not elect the
candidates. Importantly, the electorate for the
election of panel members to the Seanad consists
of the members of the incoming Dáil, the mem-
bers of the outgoing Seanad and the members
of County Councils and City/Borough Councils.
This means that the electorate for most Seanad
“I disagree with Enda Kenny’s
call to abolish the Seanad,
though I agree reform is
overdue”
,
village_oct_09.indd 12 27/10/2009 15:37:36
seats currently numbers around , people.
There are clearly several problems with the
role and mode of election of Seanad Éireann.
Firstly the Seanad is seen to have no distinc-
tive role in the Irish political system because
it is totally subordinate to Dáil Éireann. It is
dissolved every time there is a Dáil General
Election, and the legislative process set out in
the Constitution gives the Dáil the final say in
everything. Therefore in the eyes of many mem-
bers of the public, the Seanad is of questiona-
ble value. The Seanad is also dominated by the
Government, which happens largely because of
the system of the Taoiseach’s nominees. Nearly
one senator in five is nominated by the Taoiseach.
Therefore, the Seanad’s inclination and capacity
to act as an effective check on the Government
is quite limited.
The Seanad’s electoral system is also prob-
lematic. The vocational system tends to produce
senators with political backgrounds rather than
vocational backgrounds. This is because while
the nominating bodies that nominate some of
the candidates are vocational in character, the
actual electorate is political and the bodies them-
selves do not form part of it. Problems also exist
with the nominating bodies. Many of these now
are of questionable relevance to contemporary
Ireland, and as long as a majority of citizens are
excluded from the Seanad’s electorate, it will
lack the essential ingredient of public legiti-
macy. Finally, the university representation in
the Seanad is open to criticism because the cur-
rent arrangements exclude the graduates of the
vast majority of third level institutions.
What kind of reforms might address the
flaws and problems linked to the way in which
the Seanad currently operates? Well, given that
the institution has largely become a creature of
the political parties, I believe that a meaning-
ful reform process should involve introducing a
system of universal franchise where every citi-
zen has a vote in one of its panels. Alongside the
introduction of a new system of universal fran-
chise, a certain number of Senators could still
be indirectly elected by county councillors, Dáil
Deputies and Senators. The Taoiseach’s powers
to nominate Senators should be used to ensure
representation for marginal groups such as
immigrants, for representatives from Northern
Ireland and for Irish emigrants rather than as a
safety net for party favourites.
In order to give the Seanad more of an inde-
pendent identity in relation to Dáil Éireann, it
should be renewed on a rolling basis. The direct
elections to the Seanad should take place on the
same day as the European Parliament and local
elections. There should be a single national con-
stituency for these direct elections and approx-
imately half of all senators should be elected in
this way. The indirect elections, which would
elect the other half of all senators including the
Taoiseach’s nominees, should take place as cur-
rently happens not later than days after the
Dáil General Election.
Seanad committees could become vehicles
for more widespread and effective public con-
sultation at an early stage in the legislative proc-
ess. When a draft bill has been the subject of a
wide consultation process, the bill should attract
less criticism and fewer amendments as it passes
through the Houses. The increased use of consul-
tation should therefore make for a more efficient
legislature. Also consideration should be given
to providing for an additional stage in the proc-
ess to facilitate a more evidence-based approach
being taken. This would require that, in advance
of Committee Stage of the Bill in the Seanad, the
relevant Joint Committee would hear evidence
from parties who will be affected by the bill or
wish to highlight some issues in relation to it.
The Seanad should also be given an enhanced
role in the review of EU Affairs, particularly
since the Lisbon Treaty now gives a formal role
to National Parliaments to monitor draft EU leg-
islation in order to ensure its compliance with the
principle of subsidiarity.
Given the volume of legislative and policy
decisions emerging from the EU institutions,
there is a clear need for our National Parliament
to play a more active role in monitoring and shap-
ing such legislation. There is a need for more
regular political debate on EU Affairs in order
to engage the public, and help it to develop more
understanding of political developments within
the EU. An interesting proposal which emerged
from the cross-party Sub-Committee on the
Future of Ireland in the European Union, set up
after the first Irish rejection of the Lisbon Treaty,
was that at least five of the Senators elected to
Seanad Éireann should have a recognised exper-
tise in EU Affairs. MEPs and Commissioners
should also be regularly invited to speak in the
Seanad in relation to different EU policy areas.
Best practice would appear to suggest that
the Seanad can play an important advisory and
supervisory role in relation to Dáil Éireann.
However, it must be seen to have legitimacy and
to be relevant in responding to the political chal-
lenges of the st century.
quiet forever?
village_oct_09.indd 13 27/10/2009 15:37:40
