Considering a large proportion of franchised Irish citizens decided to shun the Seanad abolition referendum, this suggests the existence of much indifference towards the upper house, if not politics in general.

The campaign of media and academia to reject the abolish-the-Seanad recommendation replicates the hypocrisy and stupidity of the bankrupting of the country during the Celtic Tiger.

The headlines on the Sunday papers in unison chorused “Humiliation for the Taoiseach” and “Defeat for the Government”.

Now that my vote has helped retain the Seanad, it’s time to bring in radical reform. Here are my suggestions:

The cost of the referendum has been reported as €14m.

I am disappointed with the result of the Seanad Referendum.

The recent decision of the 17,000 members of the Association of Secondary Teachers of Ireland to reject the Haddington Road proposals was pragmatic.

On Oct 2, your newspaper led with the front page headline ‘One third of mortgages two years in arrears’.

Pope Francis is a Jesuit and an academic.

How lucky are we to be in a democracy? Remember George Orwell’s novella, Animal Farm.