Government slammed over Seanad in debate

The Government was accused of shutting down alternative voices in RTÉ’s showcase TV debate on the future of the Seanad.

The Prime Time contest between Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin and Fine Gael’s Richard Bruton saw the two argue over the merits of keeping or abolishing the upper house.

Mr Bruton said politics needed to do more with less and come into line with best practice in countries like Sweden and Denmark. The measure would also save €20m, he claimed.

But Mr Martin said the Government had reneged on election promises and would leave us with the weakest parliament in the democratic world if the upper house was closed.

Their campaign had been dishonest and their promised savings would never materialise, said the Cork TD.

The move would throw out the right of the president to refer legislation to the people and would close door on bringing external expertise into government, he added.

Mr Bruton defended the decision of the Taoiseach not to attend the debate saying it was not a personality contest. He also pointed out that the fiscal council had been introduced to monitor government spending.

But Mr Martin argued that “alternative voices” were being shut down by the government and would be.

The Seanad had changed law and had had an impact on laws, he added.

Meanwhile, Independent university senator John Crown warned voters not to accept the Fine Gael figure of €20m in annual savings if the Seanad is abolished. He said the real figure was closer to €6m.

Prof Crown said while there was a critical need to reform the process of politics in this country, many of the savings associated with the abolition of the upper house would be spent in other areas like a Dáil legal office.

“Remember not one penny will go for new cancer drugs, take kids off waiting lists in Crumlin [Hospital], get new schools, remove the prefabs or provide special needs assistants,” he said.

Speaking outside the Dáil where a group of TDs, senators and MEPs were calling for a no vote, Independent senator David Norris said the referendum was based on “lies, lies, lies” and described it as a power grab by the Taoiseach. “I think it’s a shocking betrayal that a Government may win a referendum on a series of lies and half truths,” he said.