Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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On the Seanad, I will get into all sorts of trouble no matter what answer I give. My starting principle is that I do not believe the franchise for either House should be linked to university qualifications. I cannot speak for the Government on this matter, but that is my view. How can I tell? We talk about apprenticeships and an apprenticeship is a third-level qualification. It is another way of getting a third-level qualification, but people who do apprenticeships do not get a vote for the Seanad. How then can we go into schools and talk about parity of esteem? My general point is that Seanad reform needs to be dealt with more broadly. There was a referendum many decades ago-----