Government suffers Seanad defeat as Labour members fail to show up

The Government suffered its first embarrassing defeat in the Seanad last night as Labour senators failed to turn up for a vote on proposed changes to upward-only rents.

On the eve of a referendum on the future of the Seanad, the defeat signals a major embarrassment for the Coalition, which has claimed the upper house is ineffective.

Disgruntled government senators have threatened to block or delay legislation if the Seanad is abolished, a move which could affect the budget.

Labour senators Jimmy Harte, John Whelan, John Kelly, and Denis Landy could all now face party disciplinary procedures after the motion for changes to upward-only rents — brought by independent senator Feargal Quinn — was carried by 27 to 23.

As it is a private members’ bill it will not be referred to the Dáil but read again in the Seanad.

Labour had promised to abolish upward-only rents in its manifesto before the last general election.

Jimmy Harte told the Irish Examiner the move had not been orchestrated and that he had left the chamber in order to get on a flight to Manchester. This had been cleared with Labour Seanad party whip Aideen Hayden, he added.

Ms Hayden said she did not know if the four senators would face action.

“The bottom line is people miss votes,” she said.

Labour Oireachtas members held a tense weekly parliamentary meeting yesterday at which the leadership was warned the budget needed to “have the party signature to it, in a good way”, one member said.