President ‘will lose powers’ if Seanad abolished
Save the Seanad campaigners insisted the move was the most “disturbing” element of the Government’s attempted “power grab”.
At present the President can order a referendum on a contentious bill which has been passed by the Dáil, but rejected by the Seanad, if a majority of senators and at least one third of the Dáil asks the head of state not to sign the act into law.
The fact that the power, framed in Article 27 of the Constitution, has never been used is no reason to abolish the democratic “safety net”, Fianna Fáil deputy director of elections Cllr Jim O’Callaghan said.
“While most of the 40-plus provisions of the Constitution are being amended to move power to the Dáil, the Government has quietly proposed to remove this right,” he said.
“While it has never had to be fully deployed, it has been used in numerous debates over the years to remind Government of the importance of working towards consensus. Fine Gael’s Brian Hayes used it in opposition to electronic voting, while Sinn Féin threatened its use in opposition to Nama.
“The argument which suggests that because it hasn’t been used, it can be disposed of is a dangerous one.
“The fire escape in every apartment block is thankfully never used in the vast majority of cases, but would that seriously be deployed as an argument to prevent their construction?”
Jobs Minister Richard Bruton stood over the abolition side’s claim that getting rid of the upper house would save €20m a year, despite the independent Referendum Commission saying it could not verify the figure.
Meanwhile, Labour rebel TDs fell back in to line to back the party over abolition plans.
Roisín Shortall, Patrick Nulty, and Tommy Broughan, who all quit the parliamentary party in anger at Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore’s leadership, call for the “elitist and out of touch” upper house to be closed in the Oct 4 referendum.
