Junior ministers - It’s time for real reform

WHETHER the reduction in the number of junior ministers will lead to more effective government only time will tell.

Yesterday the Taoiseach announced that he will ask all ministers of state to resign in two weeks so that he can reappoint a reduced number.

It is thought that he is likely to reappoint 15 or 16 ministers.

The Taoiseach was obliged to cut the number, but whether the reform is heartfelt or purely symbolic is a moot point.

It would be far easier to believe that the move is the first step in a long-overdue review of our legislative structures if it was accompanied by an announcement of a referendum on the future of the Senate.

The Senate has its supporters, though most of them are in the political system already and that might colour their view. How wonderfully democratic it would be if all of us had a say on this issue, not just the minority of citizens who have a Senate vote.