Menu
Ireland's political and cultural magazine
R
EAL reform of our system of govern-
ment will not be achieved by abolishing
the Seanad. Senator Feargal Quinn
and I, along with colleagues from the
Seanad Reform Group*, believe that the public
should be presented with an alternative to the
government’s near-sighted approach of ‘abolition
or retention’. The focus of public debate has now
shifted to the question of ‘reform or abolition’.
We achieved this change by publishing a consul-
tation document that engaged civil society with
the possibilities for real reform.
We have used that consultation and our own
research to develop a radical piece of legisla-
tion that would transform the Seanad in the way
that it is elected, who is elected, what powers it
holds and how it does its business. A reformed
Seanad has the potential to ensure that politics in
Ireland is not a closed shop. It has the possibility
to empower ordinary people and to give them a
voice and a real opportunity to affect the imple-
mentation of policy and legislation.
The focus of the Seanad Bill, put forward by
Senator Quinn and myself, is on the transforma-
tion of the Seanad. It
is not an attempt
to save the House
in its current form.
The effectiveness of
the old Seanad was
diminished, because
it was under-rep-
resentative of the
people and did not
serve the best inter-
ests of the people
– both the majority
and minorities.
Our Bill puts forward a number of innovative
proposals. The current limited and elitist elector-
ate would be dispensed with in favour of universal
suffrage. Those in Northern Ireland who wish to
vote in Seanad elections would have the opportu-
nity to do so, as would Irish citizens living aboard.
The new Seanad would achieve a gender balance
of per cent women and per cent men.
The candidate nomination process would be
opened up by dispensing with the special role
for Oireachtas members. Nomination by popular
support and by local authorities would be pro-
vided for. An increase in the number and range
of nominating bodies would provide candidates
that are representative of a broader sample of
Irish society.
These new voices and expertise could con-
structively and positively hold the policies and
ideas of the Cabinet, the Dáil, the political par-
ties, and the regulators to greater account. The
bill outlines new powers for the Seanad across
a range of areas. These include the power to
scrutinise draft EU Regulations and Directives,
statutory instruments and ministerial appoint-
ments to public bodies, to name a few. The new
Bill offers a way to radically open up the Seanad
without the need for a referendum.
The government is scrambling for any cogent
argument against Seanad reform. No rationale
was given for the exclusion of the issue from the
Constitutional Convention other than the govern-
ment’s resolve to hold an abolition referendum.
Paradoxically our reform bill was accepted by
the government when it was presented in the
Seanad. This is a welcome development in the
debate and reinforces the fact that closing the
Seanad is not justified.
The cost argument does not hold. The Seanad
currently costs less than 1 million annually. It
provides a vital system of checks and balances on
the power of the executive and the Dáil major-
ity. Seanad Eireann is an integral arm of the
governance of this country as laid down in our
Constitution. Now is not the time to reduce the
scrutiny of our laws.
The question of Seanad abolition will be put
to the electorate shortly. An ad hoc group of peo-
ple from diverse backgrounds and ideologies
who share a common commitment to political
reform has now formed a campaign for Seanad
reform called ‘Democracy Matters: Open It, Don’t
Close It’. A small group of concerned individuals
is organically evolving into an expanding pub-
lic campaign directed by people from across all
political, demographic and ideological hues with
one thing in common: to promote a robust Irish
democracy through a reformed Seanad.
*The Seanad Reform Group was established in early
2012 by Senator Feargal Quinn, Senator Katherine
Zappone, Michael McDowell, Joe O’Toole, and Noel
Whelan.
katherine zappone
politics
Seanad 2.0
Elected by all from representative panels to hold authorities to account
Reformable
Now is not
the time to
reduce the
scrutiny of
our laws
“
