Let’s get smart on the Seanad

You are to be congratulated on taking the debate on the Seanad seriously, (Editorial, Sept 3) – and calling for others to do so.

One of the half-truths propagated by the ‘trashers’ is that the Seanad is elected by a tiny minority of the population – most of which are alleged, (inaccurately), to have no role whatsoever in that election.

You yourself err, (or Homerically ‘nod’), in this respect. The number of NUI graduates alone eligible to vote on their own Seanad panel is 50,000 – equivalent to the electorate for a Dáil five-seater. The equivalent figure for TCD is 30,000 — equivalent to the electorate for a Dáil three-seater. Add to that a further 20,000 to 30,000 graduates of other third level institutions, ! and one gets a figure closer to 100,000.