My reasons for a No vote on the abolition of the Seanad are as follows.
1. The Seanad provides a forum for legislative debate, review and proposal away from the political mud slinging of the lower house (in my list of suggested reforms for the house I'll explain how I think it should become even further removed from the regressive gamesmanship of party politics).
2. The Seanad should be an institution which protects the interests of minority groups. Putting more power in government hands gives them further opportunity to marginalize some of the most vulnerable members of society.
3. To ensure that legislation is given careful consideration it is essential that there is an adequate division of power. The consequences of concentrating power within Dáil Eireann need to be carefully considered by those who support this amendment. Remember any anger you feel towards current or former governments is not going to be solved by voting yes. In fact to do so would be completely counter intuitive, as you will be abolishing the very institution which is designed to review government. A yes vote simply creates more powerful and less accountable politicians, which is the last thing our country needs.
4. Enda Kenny proposed this amendment and included it in the Fine Gael program for government at a time when the party's support was at its peak and he was all but guaranteed to become the next taoiseach. That is far from coincidental. Had Fianna Fáil proposed it at any time following the 2002 general election I'm sure both deputy Kenny and the rest of his party colleagues would have seen the opportunity for party warfare and adopted the opposing stance.. However such a proposal was never likely to have been made in 2002 because we were living in a much different economic climate. Now with times being tougher Kenny's in a position to kill two birds with one stone. He can lead the cost cutting crusade which the political blood thirsty masses are craving while at the same time strengthening the power of his own office. Do not let your anger towards politicians cloud your judgement on this issue. It's a rare occasion that a sitting taoiseach hopes for a protest vote from the electorate, but that's what Mr Kenny wants on this occasion. Voting through a desire to damage the political elite is completely misguided and in fact playing directly into the taoiseach's hands.
My suggested reforms for the Seanad are as follows.
1. The Seanad needs to become an institution in its own right, not a convenient stepping stone for prospective TDs nor a cosy hiding place for failed TDs. For this to happen any politician who runs for election in one house should be exempt from running for the other for a period of at least 5 years. There should be a similar waiting time for any politician who fulfills his/her term in one house before running for election to the other.
2. The Seanad should be free of party politics. No member of a political party should be eligible to run for election.
3. All senators should be democratically elected by the entire electorate. The fact that 11 senators are nominated by the taoiseach in the current system is nothing short of disgraceful! However no less disgraceful than the notion that you need a university degree to be considered eligible to vote.
But why elect a house designed to review the actions of government by exactly the same method as we elect members of Dáil Éireann? Surely it doesn't make sense? That's why I propose we elect on the following basis.
The Seanad should represent the views of interest groups. It is for that reason that the electorate should vote for a candidate to represent their preferred interest group. These could include the likes of trade unions, associations, sporting bodies, charities, ethnic minorities, even universities as is the case under the current system. Each interest group gets one representative and each voter gets to elect the representative of their preferred interest group and that group alone. The 60 best supported interest groups all claim a seat in the house.
A house under the above reforms would be democratically elected, legitimate, distanced from party politics and far better placed to review legislation objectively than it is in its current incarnation. Sure, there is no guarantee that following a successful No vote reform of any kind would be discussed let alone implemented, but don't settle for the quick fix. If you want reform rather than destruction make it be known by voting no. Because once the bicameral system has been taken away, no government will want to see it return but you just might.
Fine Gael are attempting to lead a political witch hunt from which the unemployed, those in mortgage arrears and those who have suffered substantial cuts to their standard of living can claim their pound of flesh. Don't allow them to damage the democracy which others fought so hard to secure. Vote no on Friday.
