John Crown quits Seanad over ‘lack of reform’

Outgoing senator John Crown has said he is walking away from political life because of a failure to reform the Upper House.

The outspoken Irish American oncologist has expressed his frustrations with Enda Kenny’s Government for defeating his Seanad Reform Bill.

“I promised I wouldn’t run again unless the Seanad was reformed. I had brought forward a Seanad Reform bill which was defeated,” he said.

He also railed against those politicians who “have the gall” to now seek election to the Seanad when they campaigned to abolish it two years ago.

“They have some gall when you have campaigned for its abolition and now seek election to it when you have been rejected by the people,” he said

He lambasted the limitations of the Seanad which he described as an “affront to democracy”.

However, Prof Crown, who is an oncologist at St Vincent’s Hospital, said he opposed the abolition of the Seanad, because even in its limited form it was an important balancing influence to the highly whipped Dáil.

He criticised what he called the “hijacking” of the Seanad by the main political parties rather than having it filled by sectoral experts like him who add a different dimension to the debate.

He said only the six university seats offer that balance to the dominance of the main parties.

Prof Crown was speaking on RTÉ Radio’s Today With Seán O’Rourke show.

He also revealed his views on the Irish health service, insisting it is not a third-world one.

“I’ve seen third world and Ireland wasn’t third world — but it was locked at the bottom of first world. At a time when the non-mastectomy option was available, women here were losing their breasts because of poor services,” he said.

He says that he has paid a price for speaking out.

“I was saying that things were really appalling...They made vague promises and told us to shut up. I said there would be no omerta. And I’ve had a difficult relationship with the bureaucracy ever since,” he added.

Prof Crown, who is 59, spoke of his one-year-old son James with his wife Orla Healy, and how he is a modern father.

“He is a gorgeous boy; I am a nappy-changing dad,” he said.