Kenny demands Coalition parties throw weight behind Seanad referendum

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has demanded that both Government parties throw their support behind the October referendum on abolishing the Seanad.

Speaking in Vilnius, Mr Kenny’s remarks were a direct challenge to Labour chief whip Emmett Stagg, responsible for voting discipline in the junior coalition party.

Mr Stagg said he would not campaign ahead of the October referendum and would vote against the Seanad’s abolition. Several other Labour TDs have since come out to back him.

Today Labour TD Joanna Tuffy said she would campaign “vigorously” for a No vote in the referendum campaign “This really comes down to our democracy and what our democracy should entail .... should we have two houses in our parliament. The Labour Party does allow us to hold our own opinions and I’ll be going out vigorously campaigning against the abolition of the Seanad,” she told RTÉ radio.

“I expect that all members of the Government parties will support the passing of government legislation,” said Mr Kenny. “It is a Government position, it is a Government decision and it is a Government programme and we want to see that it is followed through and that the Bill passes both houses, that there is a strong campaign from each party.”

He said that, after 35 years in Irish politics, he was confident that a reformed, one-chamber system would be more accountable and transparent.

Increased powers for Dail committees to examine and criticise proposed legislation would have a more tangible effect on Irish democracy than the Seanad had done, he insisted.

“It should be borne in mind that the constitutional authoritity to hold government to account rests with Dail, not with the Oireachtas,” he said. “The Seanad has never had that constitutional responsibility. That would be enhanced by a changed committee system.”

Speaking yesterday in Dublin, Labour leader Eamon Gilmore said “we expect our public representatives to support the proposition in the campaign”.

Labour sources have said the abolition of the Seanad is not seen as a priority among their ranks.

The Taoiseach made the comments as he begins a two-day trip today to northern Europe today. His trip began in Lithuania, which succeeds the Irish EU presidency at the end of June.

In Vilnius Mr Kenny met the popular Lithuanian president, Dalia Grybauskaite for talks followed by a press conference. After a meeting with the Lithuanian prime minister Algirdas Butkevicius, Mr Kenny flies north to Riga, the Latvian capital.

He will hold talks with the prime minister Valdis Dombrovskis before calling on President Andris Berzins. Talks in both countries are expected to centre on the final weeks of Ireland’s presidency, Lithuania’s presidency plans and Latvia’s looming euro accession.

Tomorrow, Mr Kenny travels to Helsinki to meet his Finnish counterpart Jyrki Katainen, after which he will address the Annual Economic Ideas Forum.