Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party) | Oireachtas source

The Socialist Party was decades ahead of the parties in government in demanding the abolition of the Seanad. The Seanad is an elitist entity, some of the Members of which are voted in by university graduates. There is no vote in the Seanad for ordinary working people who did not have the opportunity to attend third level. Even some of those who have attended college, have been denied a vote as well. The Seanad is, therefore, full of anomalies and elitism. It is a vehicle of patronage for the political parties in power and for the Taoiseach of the day. In many ways, it is a rotten borough. The vocational panels relating to the Upper House were supposed to gift to the nation legislators of particular expertise. However, this has not proven to be the case. It is high time the Seanad was abolished.

I ask that the Taoiseach be more specific. He stated that the Bill providing for the abolition of the Seanad will be published this session. Will this Bill contain all the details in respect of the legislative and constitutional changes that will have to be made if the people choose to abolish the Seanad? Will the Taoiseach indicate when he envisages that the referendum will take place?

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