Unnecessary historical legacies

The Seanad and proportional representation voting were introduced by the founders of the Irish Free State to ensure the interests of Protestants-Unionists were protected.

This is why WB Yeats and many titled gentlemen became members of the first Seanad and played a valuable role there. Eamon deValera introduced a Bill to abolish the Seanad in 1934.

He later saw that a second chamber could be of party political value and reintroduced it in the 1937 Constitution. The new Seanad became a creature of the Government of the day with little democratic mandate and has made little contribution to Irish life.