Divided opinions on Seanad referendum date

MINISTER for Defence Tony Killeen revealed earlier this week that the Government was considering holding a referendum to abolish the Seanad on the same day as the impending general election but reacting to the move, Clare TDs say this could not happen.
Minister Killeen explained he suggested the referendum on the Seanad because  he feared that Seanad reform would fall way down the list of priorities once a new Government was elected.
While Deputy Killeen is keeping an open mind on whether the Seanad should be abolished, he admitted he wasn’t fully convinced about the arguments being put forward for its retention as part of the current debate.
If it is not abolished, Minister Killeen stressed it should be radically reformed as part of an overall reform of the Oireachtas.
“I think there is a consensus developing in relation to the abolition of the Seanad. I am concerned if Fine Gael and Labour form the next Government, it will fall down the list of priorities,” he said.
Deputy Timmy Dooley, who served as a Clare Senator from 2002 to 2007, insisted the Seanad played a very important role when it came to analysing legislation because senators had more time than deputies to scrutinise bills.
The Fianna Fáil Deputy explained deputies spend a lot of time dealing with constituency issues and stressed if a decision was taken to abolish the Seanad, it should be part of an overall package to reform the Dáil to allow more time for proper examination of legislation.
“There are a lot of procedures that are archaic in the Seanad and the Dáil that need reform. I would support the idea of a referendum but would be somewhat concerned if there is enough time to have a proper debate before the votes are cast on the day of the general election,” he said.
While Fine Gael TD’s Pat Breen and Joe Carey both echo the need to disband the Seanad, they say that putting the issue to the people in a referendum as early as the next general election would be premature.
“It is party policy that we would put it to the people that the Seanad be abolished. It is not fulfilling the function for which it had been set up. We have a policy document called New Politics, which shows that we want to reform how politics in this country is being carried out and one of these reforms includes abolishing the Seanad. We also want to reduce the number of TDs in the Dáil by 20 and we would give more powers to committees in the Dáil to make ministers more accountable in the national parliament,” Deputy Carey said.
He added that he didn’t believe it would be possible to hold a referendum in time for the next general election due to the necessary legislation and paperwork that would have to be drawn up to facilitate such a referendum.
“It will take a period of time to put that legislation together. We in Fine Gael would, if successful, put in a year in office and then put it to the people whether they wish to abolish the Seanad or not. The Seanad itself, over the last number of years, could have reformed and could have been more relevant. Report on report was commissioned and compiled on the issue but the Seanad failed to reform. The Seanad has become irrelevant,” Deputy Carey concluded. 
Clare Deputy Pat Breen went a step further in his views on the Seanad stating that “the whole political system” to include both houses of the Oireachtas “needed to be reformed”.
“There seems to be no accountability whatsoever. In the Lower House, you ask a question of the Minister for Health and the question goes to the HSE. You ask a question on roads of the Minister for Transport and it is directed to the NRA. For years, it has suited the Government not to have Dáil reform. We have a commitment to reform both houses and reduce the number of TDs and abolish the Seanad but that is a matter for the people to decide,” Deputy Breen stated.
He also believed that a referendum could not be held by the next general election and felt such a referendum was “a task for a new government”.
“Now is not the proper time. There are bigger issues out there at the moment in relation to jobs and the economy. To me, this mention of it by Fianna Fáil is a smokescreen. We need to have a proper debate and not a rushed one. A new government should have this debate and it is not a debate to be had in the dying days of this Government,” Deputy Breen added.