The Seanad doesn’t get my vote: it’s an expensive insiders’ charade

THE debate about abolishing the Seanad reminds me of the Groucho Marx line: “I don’t care to belong to any club that will have me as a member.”

I have never voted in a Seanad election, but as a graduate of University College Cork, I’m entitled to register to do so. I can’t remember if I registered after graduation, but I would have given my home address; I have not notified the register as to changes of address. I’m fascinated by Irish politics — as a citizen as much as a journalist — but I have never wanted to vote in a Seanad election.

Why not? There are many reasons, but the make-up of the electorate is one. I am also a graduate of Dublin City University, but that doesn’t entitle me to a Seanad vote. There is discrimination between places of third-level learning.