Vote on abolition of Seanad to go ahead

THE REFERENDUM to abolish the Seanad will be held within the next 18 months, according to Seanad leader Maurice Cummins.

The Fine Gael Senator was speaking at the launch of the new Seanad Public Consultation Committee (SPCC), which has invited submissions from the public on the rights of older people.

“I believe the referendum will be held within the next 18 months, that’s my understanding of it,” Mr Cummins said. In May, Taoiseach Enda Kenny said the referendum would be held next year. The programme for government states: “We will significantly reduce the size of the Oireachtas by abolishing the Seanad, if the public approve in a constitutional referendum.” Mr Cummins said the new committee was just part of a process of reform within the Seanad. “Let the people decide whether or not they want to abolish one of the institutions of the State,” he said.

Fianna Fáil Senator Denis O’Donovan, chairman of the new committee, said he hoped the current Seanad would be remembered for implementing reform. “We are not going to go down without a fight,” he said.

Mr O’Donovan said the last two seanads had “failed to grasp the nettle” and embark on a programme of internal reform. However, he said, there was “huge doubt” about how the public would respond in the referendum.

Labour Party Senator Ivana Bacik said the current Seanad was “dynamic and engaged”. The new committee had been set up after an initiative by some of the Taoiseach’s nominees, who she described as “independent-minded”. The non-party group, lead by Senator Jillian van Turnhout, chief executive of the Children’s Rights Alliance, comprises seven of the Taoiseach’s 11 nominees. The new committee will select topics to report on, beginning with rights of older people.

Submissions will be invited from the public and interest groups and hearings will be heard in public in the Seanad Chamber.