Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I recognise that but the Government made promises and was elected on the basis of those promises.

The centrepiece or jewel in the crown of the Government's proposed constitutional reforms was the abolition of the Seanad. The programme for Government states that the Government will "prioritise" this measure but the Government's understanding of "prioritise" is a bit funny, given that two years have passed and nothing has been done. The Taoiseach has said that Ireland is about to take over the Presidency of the EU and the Government will not have time for this sort of referendum for the next six months and I accept that. However, in six month's time, when Ireland finishes it's stint, two and half years will have passed from the time the Government came to office. That is half the constitutional lifetime of the Government before we even start and I am willing to bet it will be much more - perhaps two thirds - of the actual lifetime of this Government, if one takes the average life of a Government in Ireland. At that point, we will not even have started the process.

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