Sir, – The Government may be pushing to get a raft of meaty legislation over the line before the next general election, but ironically one of the least complex proposed laws is the only one that is mandatory and has a deadline attached to it (“Seanad to sit three days next week to pass two key Government Bills”, News, July 12th).
While the Planning Bill and Courts Bill are important, the Oireachtas will continue to operate as normal should neither Bill pass.
However, the Seanad electoral amendment legislation – published in recent months as the General Scheme of the Seanad Electoral (University Members) (Amendment) Bill 2024 – not only needs to be passed by the Oireachtas, but its provisions need to be fully operational by May 31st next year as that is the date the current 1937 provisions on Seanad elections will fall.
If this deadline 10 months from now is not met, the Oireachtas will not be able to run a Seanad election and therefore no future Oireachtas will be able to form.
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The issue the Government will face with passing its proposed Seanad electoral reform legislation is that its legislation will only extend the right to vote in Seanad elections to more third-level graduates, rather than the entire general electorate as proposed by the 2015 Manning report on Seanad reform and the all-party 2018 report of the Seanad Reform Implementation Group.
Essentially, all TDs will have to vote on limiting the Seanad franchise for six seats to third-level graduates – as per the Government’s proposal – or reject the proposal and opt instead to extend the franchise for more than half the seats in the Upper House to every Irish citizen entitled to vote in Dáil elections.
The choice on voting rights over the next 10 months rests with our TDs and Senators now. – Yours, etc,
TOMÁS HENEGHAN,
East Wall,
Dublin 3.