The Seanad is a waste of taxpayers’ millions and should be abolished

And you can’t defend something that, when you boil it all down, really makes no contribution at all. As a body, despite costing tens of millions a year, it adds nothing to public discourse or debate, and hasn’t done so for years. It has no role whatever in terms of providing checks and balances.

I SUPPOSE, in a way, the announcement of the Taoiseach’s 11 was the last straw for me.

The Taoiseach of the day has the right to pick 11 senators, and of course this right was built in just in case the elections to the Seanad ended up in a situation where the country became impossible to govern. Giving the Taoiseach of the day the right to hand-pick between a fifth and a quarter of the Seanad was designed to ensure that no government had to face an opposition majority in the Upper House.