Diarmuid Wilson (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It continues:

Nevertheless, one of the Seanad's more important functions through the mid-20th century continued to be to give a voice to the minority, represented for instance by Professor W.B. Standford for 25 years, at a time when the majority political and religious opinion was still fairly monolithic. He also defended the State from unfair political criticism from unionist co-religionists in Northern Ireland. Historically, the Seanad will be seen to have played a significant role since in the opening up of Irish society.

While a great deal has changed since then, this State, unlike most of its smaller counterparts in Europe or further afield, is situated in a divided island, with, north of the Border, still very divided allegiances. Ironically, what has always put unionist supporters off a united Ireland has been the fear of undiluted majority rule of a type they themselves practised for 50 years, having quickly got rid of minority safeguards in the 1920-1 settlement.

The proposed abolition of the Seanad by a government with the largest majority in the history of the State would also remove the Taoiseach's nominees, which allowed remarkable people from both communities like Seamus Mallon, Bríd Rogers, John Robb, Gordon Wilson and Maurice Hayes to make a valuable contribution to better mutual understanding as well as to our democracy. One day, a second chamber might provide some of the flexibility that it would make it possible to accommodate communities, which have long been politically separated from us.

They are just a few short, but important, quotations from Dr. Mansergh's letter to The Irish Times .

Professor Barrett and others have said that in abolishing the Seanad the Government will disenfranchise many thousands of people from the Six Counties of our island who were elected to it. Has the Taoiseach considered the effect this will have? At a time when communities in the North of Ireland are striving to live together, we are going to cut them adrift by disenfranchising the only 32 county electorate this country has.