Sir, – Far from claiming that I never supported abolition of the Seanad in the past, as I was suggested to have claimed (Miriam Lord’s Week, October 20th), I have always publicly acknowledged that I did advocate and support its abolition in the past.
It was during my period as minister and tánaiste that I came to the conclusion the Seanad should be reformed rather than abolished, and that its abolition would be a very serious and damaging mistake.
Indeed, your paper has kindly reported on a number of recent speeches by me, including a paper at the McGill Summer School in Glenties (July 28th) and a speech in Trinity College (October 20th), where I expressly acknowledged I had previously supported abolition, had changed my mind, and gave my reasons for now supporting Seanad reform as opposed to abolition. – Yours, etc,