Sir, – Abolishing the Seanad would be a foolish reaction to doing nothing “for 70 years” (Enda Kenny quoted at the MacGill summer school, Home News, July 24th) rather than a genuine attempt to correct the failures of the past.
Having a reformed upper house totally free of any political bias, and divorced from party influence and appointment, would move our democracy towards giving a voice to citizens and sectors of society outside of party politics.
Can the Government loosen its hold on power? or would that be requesting it be a turkey voting for Christmas? The coalition “has retained the iron grip of government on the Dáil and has seriously hamstrung the constitutional convention” (Brendan Ryan, July 26th).
I am disappointed that the constitutional convention has been given topics of relatively minor complexity to debate (not that these are unimportant) rather than pressing issues concerning radical overhaul of the electoral system and Oireachtas reform; we badly need restructuring of power relations between government, the Dáil and the civil service.
Reform of the Seanad, among other items, could be one of the issues up for its consideration.
Civic society needs to be informed and have transparent structures able to hold power to account. An independent and apolitical Seanad with unbiased oversight functions would have enabled me (and maybe others?) to vote Yes in the recent parliamentary inquiries referendum.
Steven Lukes, a sociologist who made a study of power in society, suggests that a subtle and insidious use of power is exercised through keeping issues off the agenda of public discussion. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – As a frequent participant and attendee at the MacGill Summer School over more than 20 years I must beg to differ with Tom McGreal (July 26th), when he suggests that it has become the forum which the Seanad was intended to be. The Seanad for all its faults has some legislative powers as laid down in Article 20 of the Constitution. MacGill does not.
I believe that the Seanad should be reformed, maybe on the lines as proposed by Brendan Ryan (July 26th). Salaries and expenses could be drastically curtailed, but most importantly the electoral base should be expanded to eliminate the ridiculous situation where some citizens have multiple votes and others none. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – The letter from six distinguished former Senators and the incisive comments of Michael McDowell at the MacGill Summer School establish a strong case for reform, rather than abolition, of the Senate.
The proposed abolition of the upper house was, and remains, a populist policy, devoid of evidence of any serious consideration of its implications.
The Senate, in its present condition of almost supine dependence on the Dáil majority, is in need of thoroughgoing reform. But abolition would remove from the legislature voices and important viewpoints which would be unlikely to emerge from Dáil constituency dog-fights – think of William Butler Yeats holding 14 clinics in local pubs every weekend!
There is no evidence that the implications of moving to a unicameral legislature have been given more than passing consideration. While there are remarkable examples of such parliaments, they form part of sophisticated systems, not least in respect of checks and balances in the relations between parliament and executive and between central and local administration. Such checks and balances are particularly important in the Irish system where the executive has established almost complete dominance of parliament. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – Considering the catalogue of poor decisions that have needlessly diminished our lives since the foundation of the State – our self inflicted wounds – might it not be that one decisive intervention of a reformed Senate in any given year would justify its retention? – Yours, etc,
Sir, I would like to point out that many of the notable figures in Irish life have been members of the Upper House, including President Higgins. The late Garret FitzGerald found the Senate a fruitful vehicle in his crusade for constitutional changes that led to peace in Northern Ireland – something that shouldn’t be forgotten,
In the midst of the economic crisis, it is easy to forget the input and role it plays in legislation.
Furthermore, from the birth of the State Senators of every hue have shed the light of reason on many social issues far more effectively than the combative lower chamber.
Reform is certainly overdue in two main areas. First, the method of election; some senators have, in the words of Cromwell, sat for too long for any good they have been doing. Second, the capping of the expenses gravy train – cases where expenses are twice the average industrial wage must be seriously addressed in the current climate of austerity. – Yours, etc.