Labour split over plans for the Seanad

Plans to sweep away the Seanad have left Labour openly divided.

Despite Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore insisting that all Labour Oireachtas members would be expected to back moves to abolish the upper house, some senators immediately broke ranks and the party’s chief whip in the Dáil said he would vote against abolition on the day.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny promised a raft of Dáil reforms if the Seanad was abolished in a national poll slated for early October.