Seanad centenary commemorates 'place for reasoned debate'

The first Seanad sat in Leinster House in 1922. Picture: Maxwells

Proposed changes to the Seanad "too often suggest that it does not serve us well", the Taoiseach says, telling a commemorative sitting of the chamber that "today is not a time to dwell on" reforming the upper house.

Senators sat in the Dáil Chamber on Monday, where the first Seanad sat in 1922, to mark the centenary of the house, with Cathaoirleach Mark Daly telling the chamber that the Seanad was "established in the midst of a bitter, tragic and divisive Civil War" and that between November 1922 and February 1923, 37 senators had their homes destroyed.