The Irish Examiner View: Gender imbalance a poor reflection on Seanad

It’s almost seven years since a proposal to abolish the Seanad was rejected by a Brexit-scale margin of 51.7% to 48.3%. Though the referendum was closely run thing it was more an expression of voter indifference that anything else. Fewer that four in 10 citizens — just 39.2% — were moved enough to engage in the process.

The result provoked all sorts of commitments to reform but as ever — events dear boy, events — priorities changed and the focus changed. As a consequence, all of the arguments for abolishing the institution are as valid today as they were in 2013.