Seanad Reform

Speaking at the delivery of the Seanad Reform report and bill in 2020, Senator Higgins said, “When the people of Ireland voted to retain the Seanad in 2013, they told us that they saw its value but they also sent a clear message that they wanted reform.  The public retained the Seanad with the expectation that we would open it up to them. This cross-party Bill is a significant and important step to delivering that reform, enhancing the democratic mandate of the Seanad and deepening the engagement between the public and Senators. The implementation group have delivered and it is imperative that the Taoiseach now follow through on the commitments made in the Programme for Partnership Government by bringing this legislation through the Oireachtas in a timely fashion.”

The Government failed to progress the cross-party Bill or take any action on Seanad Reform until 2023, when, in response to pressure politically and from the courts, the Government introduced its Seanad Electoral (University Members) (Amendment) Bill. The Government's Bill, which was rushed through the Seanad without proper debate or scrutiny this October,  is flawed and limited with a minimalist approach that falls far short of the spirit of the 1979 and 2013 referendums where people gave a clear mandate for a more open and democratic Seanad. Most notably, it does not deliver universal franchise. It merely widens the pool of graduates entitled to vote on the six university seats but does not give the wider public any right to vote on the forty-three panel seats.

We need real reform of the kind set out in the Seanad Bill 2020, drafted by Senator Higgins, Senator McDowell and other members of the cross-party Seanad Reform Implementation Group. The Seanad Bill 2020 would give every adult citizen the right to vote in Seanad elections while also fully meeting the requirements of last year’s Supreme Court ruling. The debates and decisions within the Seanad affect everyone, and everyone should have a say in electing its members.