Sir, – Successive governments have completely ignored the constitutional requirement of Article 28, 4, 1° that “The Government shall be responsible to Dáil Éireann”. Instead they have dictated policy to the Dáil through an anti-democratic whip system.
Enda Kenny’s demand that Government parties support Seanad abolition without any reform of the dysfunctional Dáil/Government relationship is yet another outrageous contempt for democracy and the Constitution. – Yours, etc,
FRANK O’CONNOR,
Hillcourt Road,
Glenageary,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – The Seanad is the only private club in town where members are paid a salary and expenses. In addition there is unrestricted access to all the political movers and shakers. Is it any wonder many members are in uproar at its possible demise? – Yours, etc,
PADDY CORLEY,
Beechpark,
Ennis,
Co Clare.
Sir, – I listened with interest to Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney and Senator Katherine Zappone debate the proposal to abolish the Seanad (on RTE's Morning Ireland programme, June 6th). The Minister pointed, as supporting examples, to a number of upstanding, successful countries that have a single parliamentary chamber. What the Minister did not do was point out that some of the world's most oppressive and dangerous regimes also belong to this dubious club. – Yours, etc,
DAVID WILKINS,
Vevay Road,
Bray,
CoWicklow.
Sir, – What on earth does the Senate do for the average bloke on the street, for the man on the top of the Clapham omnibus? Nothing. There is no “average bloke”, there is no “Clapham omnibus”. These have been replaced by the “worker” and the “Luas”.
So let the Senate go the way of cobble stones and tram rails, let it fade into the past like Molly Malone. In the future somone may ask “Did it ever exist at all, at all”. – Yours, etc,
KEN BUGGY,
Ballydubh Upper,
Co Waterford.
Sir, – The Taoiseach woke up one morning and proclaimed that he would abolish the Seanad to the complete surprise of his of everyone, including his party colleagues. He and Eamon Gilmore have no mandate whatsoever to proceed with this as they will find out in the referendum.
The Dáil is in far more urgent need of reform that the Seanad. So too is our entire system of local government. Abolition of the Seanad will not save the claimed €20 million a year – as a cost of €10 million was indicated by Oireachtas officials last year. Even €20 million would be a trivial amount if it helps prevent the erosion of democracy.
The Taoiseach has stated “Ireland had too many politicians for its size”, so let him cut the number of costly and numerous TDs and speed up rationalisation of local government.
Instead of abolition, give the Seanad a real role in the political process, as has been proposed by some Seanad members; introduce a list-based electoral system based on vocational, regional, emigrant and Northern Ireland constituencies to elect all members; and ban the use of the whip so that the senators can operate with complete independence. – Yours, etc,
BRIAN FLANAGAN,
Ardmeen Park,
Blackrock,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – At this time when the Government parties are refusing a free vote on a major medical and moral issue, it would seem wholly inappropriate to be also proposing the abolition of the Seanad, a forum for mature democratic debate. – Yours, etc,
EAMON FITZPATRICK,
Strandhill Road,
Sligo.
A chara, – Presumably, as the Taoiseach believes that we have too many politicians in Ireland, he will not move to fill the vacant Seanad seat left by Dr Martin McAleese and he will ask all those Senators who support his move to do away with the second chamber to resign their seats.
Surely none of them would want to be members of a club in which they do not believe nor wish to reform?
Yes, the current Seanad is past its sell-by date, but the need for appropriate checks and balances on government power has never been stronger. Building a better house of democracy requires planning and structural examination, not simply taking a bulldozer to an outdated wing of the building. – Is mise,
Cllr MALCOLM BYRNE,
Fianna Fáil,
Gorey,
Co Wexford
Sir, – The Taoiseach says An Seanad did nothing to challenge the excess of the Celtic tiger. And in the same period what did Fine Gael do? Perhaps An Taoiseach could let us know. We might then consider the case for abolishing Fine Gael. – Yours, etc,
DENIS HEALY,
Devon Park,
Salthill,
Galway.
Sir, – So our upper house is to be swept away in a flurry of no less than 40 amendments to our Constitution. It’s a wonder that such major surgery, conceived as it was on the back of an envelope, did not warrant consideration by our much heralded Constitutional Convention. Perhaps it is much too busy considering such pressing human rights issues as same sex marriage, the lowering of the voting age or the reduction of the presidential term.
One wonders how much thought has been put into this proposal and whether it is a coincidence that it’s called the Thirty Second Amendment to the Constitution Bill. – Yours, etc,
ANTHONY HARRIS,
Butterfield Park,
Rathfarnham,
Dublin 14.