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.

When deValera entered the Presidential election in 1959, he put forward an amendment to the Constitution for the abolition of proportional representation. Dev was elected President but the people defeated the amendment.

Thus we still have the Seanad and proportional representation as unnecessary and unwelcome historical legacies.

Anthony J Jordan

Sandymount

Dublin 4