Sir, – Your editorial of February 20th, "The Irish Times view on the future of the Seanad: In dire need of a revamp", neglects the political, constitutional and legislative reality that fundamental Seanad reform cannot happen without the cooperation and support of the Dáil, together with the Government.
Since the Seanad abolition referendum in 2013, senators have introduced numerous pieces of legislation which would reform the way in which the Seanad is elected but every such Bill has been left to gather dust, alongside the countless reports on reform commissioned by successive governments.
Seanad reform cannot happen in isolation and the burden of responsibility to reform our Upper House does not solely lie on the shoulders of senators.
Our political system requires that in order for Seanad reform to be achieved, members of both the Dáil and Government must also shoulder the burden to reform the Upper House as we mark its centenary year. – Yours, etc,
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DANIEL GRIFFIN,
Dunboyne,
Co Meath.
Sir, – When choosing to attend the University of Limerick in 2010, I didn’t realise at the time that choice would place me below my secondary school peers who chose NUIG, UCC or UCD.
But under the exclusionary and “ridiculous” electoral system, noted in your editorial, for the Seanad’s so-called “universities’ representation”, the State tells people like me that our degrees and educations are of lesser value and deserving of lesser access to democracy.
This is despite the electorate deciding in 1979, by a majority of 92.4 per cent, to extend the so-called university franchise to graduates of all higher education institutions in the State – a decision that has been ignored, with utter contempt, by successive governments for almost 43 years.
Why is it that the current Government, including ironically a Minister for Higher Education, is satisfied to continue to send an explicit message to graduates of five of the Republic’s universities – and seven institutes of technology – that their education and qualifications carry less value than degrees awarded by the remaining five universities?
All people across the island should be given access to their fundamental right to vote in elections for the Upper House of the Oireachtas, and this would not even require constitutional change.
The present system of a small number of individuals having five to seven votes in Seanad elections, while the vast majority have zero votes, needs to be done away with.
Let graduates, from all institutions of higher education, choose whether to vote for candidates on a six-seat higher education institutions panel or one of the vocational panels, currently only elected by councillors, TDs and senators.
This would ensure that no matter a person’s educational qualifications, they would be entitled to one vote each in a Seanad election.
This would reflect the very basic principle of modern democracy: one person, one vote. – Yours, etc,
TOMÁS
HENEGHAN,
Dublin 3.
Sir, – Your editorial of February 21st tells us that the Seanad is “in dire need of change”.
It goes on, however, to recommend essentially that we should not only elect a second Dáil but also give it little or no power.
This country has more national politicians relative to population than our similar-sized European neighbours.
All we have to do is get rid of the talking shop of the insider elites that is the Seanad and we would be much more comparable to our European neighbours. We would save ourselves some money. – Yours, etc,
ANTHONY LEAVY,
Sutton,
Dublin 13.